What does Blackguard do when not touring? (aka the thread that won't die)

[Claus / Intromental]

This is the first time we agree the whole thread. I used to hate going to Metal Haven this time of year because nothing really new was coming out. It did give me time to buy "dead" CD's I passed up during the year.

No, we do not agree. To agree means that our opinions on a certain issue are the same.

However, this has not been a discussion about your opinion vs mine, but instead a discussion about you not being able to recognize the facts presented to you.

The reason you "agree" with me this time, is because you have seen the thing I pointed out to you, in your own life so many times that your brain finally have decided to recognize that as an undeniable fact. I'm glad to see that there's still some sense in there, and that we don't have to give up on you yet. Now, at this point I would like for you to go back to the start of this thread and read it all over again. Once you're done and you have understood it, feel free to come back online and thank me for showing you the way.

 

[Claus / Intromental]

Speaking of that (and to continue the topic fluctuation in this thread that just refuses to die), what are some of the best spots in the Outer Banks? Thinking about possibly coming down at some point in the Spring and I wanted some recommendations (although a Brazilian asking a Dane about beach suggestions just doesn't seem right...)

Thanks!

You're right, that just doesn't seem right
To be honest, we haven't been to the Outer Banks yet, so I wouldn't know. When we go to the beach we always end up in Wilmington, NC, which has some really pretty beaches and also the city is quite "historic" (yes, I still laugh at the "historic sites" in the US being just a few hundred years old, hehe).

c.

 

[AngraRULES]

thank me for showing you the way.

 

[Jasonic]

AngraRULES - I will be in the outer banks in the beginning of July.
We specifically go to the Nags Head area.

All areas I have driven through around there look amazing to be honest.

 

[Jasonic]

I guess this will be book 3 in our discussion.

Book 1: Does Blackguard tour to much
Book 2: Do first week CD sales matter
Book 3: Dowload then buy?

Yeah, that would be a thread all by itself with ease.

I dunno. I have read a lot of people who admit to downloading everytihng, but then going back and purchasing what they like.

I guess I have difficulty believing that if you had all these albums downloaded already, that you would go out and spend money on them again. I am not calling anyone out on this (Esp Zod). There have been many on here who say they do that. I mean, with as fancy as IPODS have gotten, once you have the tunes downloaded, you can download the artwork and sometimes even the booklet. I would say it's a rare type of fan who once already in possession of the tunes would purchase the CD just because its the right thing to do, or to support the band, or even just because once they like it they WANT the physical CD. Even if CD listening VS MP3 was a preference, the listener could burn a CD.

I am the opposite. I first will only hear something on CD. Call me old school I guess, but there is always that thrill of first hearing the album with the product in hand. The new Helloween is a perfect example. Top 10 band of all time of all genres for me. It killed me that it took over a week to find a physical copy of this in stores. In hindsight, I SHOULD have simply pre-ordered it, but that's another story.

Sorry, I didn't mean for this post to be THIS long, and I probably should have started another thread, but at this point, no post is a derailment!

 

[skyrefuge]

This just put the kibosh on my plan for CD purchasing next year. I had planned on putting more energy into tracking my listening, and then at the end of 2011, purchasing the 75 CDs I had listened to most. However, if it has the kind of impact you described, then I'll take a pass on that.

Really? I'm assuming at least that you're basing that reaction on a desire to help bands and not on a whiny-5-year-old "you said I 'don't matter' so screw you!" reaction?

Anyhow, I think you should still go ahead and do it that way.

#1) It makes sense, and rewards the most-deserving bands.
#2) A band's touring plans aren't going to be affected by a single person buying or not-buying their album. Simply talking about an album you like and convincing other people to buy it probably would have a greater effect than your single purchase.
#3) Anything that rejects the industry's "first week" focus is a good thing, IMO, especially if it can encourage them to shift their thinking. If and when we make it to a point where subscription services dominate (giving the ability to access the entire universe of music), the industry is going to be forced to shift away from that "first week" focus, so we might as well help them get a head start.

To be honest, we haven't been to the Outer Banks yet

ha, that explains it, I was thinking "margaritas on the Outer Banks?" The two really don't go together in my mind, but I guess everywhere really ought to have margaritas, so maybe it make sense. Anyhow, I rode my bike down the entire length from Kitty Hawk to Ocracoke this summer, and there's really no bad spot. It's also not a huge stretch (day and a half on a bike), so it's probably not hard to cover it all in a car. The built-up area in the north is nice and touristy (you can blast your Bruce Dickinson in Kill Devil Hills!), but if you're into beautiful empty and natural stretches of beach, I highly recommend Ocracoke Island (and the cute town at the south end). You need to take a ferry there, but that's half the fun too.

Neil

 

[Claus / Intromental]

ha, that explains it, I was thinking "margaritas on the Outer Banks?"

Yeah, that really didn't make much sense

 

[Palabra de Dios]

This is not a topic about vacations. This is a topic about a band that tours a whole lot. Blackguard is the obvious subject, but other goods ones are Powerglove, Into Eternity, Mutiny Within, Warbringer, and Decrepit Birth.

I wonder who the next band will be...

 

[Harvester]

DIE YOU FUCKING THREAD!!! DIE!!

 

[AngraRULES]

This is not a topic about vacations.

Boo. You're just upset my vacation mention generated more responses than your other relevant posts.

DIE YOU FUCKING THREAD!!! DIE!!

GREATEST POST EVER!!!

Edit: Sig'd.

 

[Diabolik]

DIE YOU FUCKING THREAD!!! DIE!!

I will make sure this thread goes until Blackguard stops touring.

 

[General Zod]

Really? I'm assuming at least that you're basing that reaction on a desire to help bands and not on a whiny-5-year-old "you said I 'don't matter' so screw you!" reaction?

Your assumption is correct; it's about helping the bands. However, I'll likely just change my approach a bit. There are some bands that I'm just not going to be able to help. They're just too far underground and they're never going to tour. I'm still going to buy their discs. And with respect to your next point...

#1) It makes sense, and rewards the most-deserving bands.

This. Everyone's CD budget has a limit. I'd rather reward a band whose CD got a dozen plays over the course of a year, than a band whose disc I listened to once, thought was brilliant, bought and tired of after another listen or two.

#2) A band's touring plans aren't going to be affected by a single person buying or not-buying their album. Simply talking about an album you like and convincing other people to buy it probably would have a greater effect than your single purchase.

While I get where you're coming from, the same argument could be made, albeit to a slightly lesser extent, about not buying at all.

#3) Anything that rejects the industry's "first week" focus is a good thing, IMO, especially if it can encourage them to shift their thinking. If and when we make it to a point where subscription services dominate (giving the ability to access the entire universe of music), the industry is going to be forced to shift away from that "first week" focus, so we might as well help them get a head start.

This is an interesting one. I would like to hear Claus' thoughts on whether this "first week" focus is an artifact from the record industry, which is dying from all of their age old processes, or whether it's something newer.

 

[General Zod]

DIE YOU FUCKING THREAD!!! DIE!!

Come on. This thread is still a baby. There are eight different threads on RC with over 1,000 posts.

 

[Prog_Please]

If people are going to discuss the right and wrongs of downloading CDs, then it might be best to just resurrect one of the million threads that already exist on the topic.

I liked the point about bands not releasing CDs near xmas. It makes perfect sense and now that I think about it, the only new release I am interested in over the next few months is the new Agalloch album. Blind Guardian probably cut it a little close (however I bet half their fan base uses their parent's income to buy CDs, so maybe not as big of a deal (no, I have no real facts to support my claim (even though when I was in high school and my gf found out I liked metal, her response was "Oh, you mean stuff like Blind Guardian?"))).

 

[ratanda]

No, we do not agree. To agree means that our opinions on a certain issue are the same.

However, this has not been a discussion about your opinion vs mine, but instead a discussion about you not being able to recognize the facts presented to you.

The reason you "agree" with me this time, is because you have seen the thing I pointed out to you, in your own life so many times that your brain finally have decided to recognize that as an undeniable fact. I'm glad to see that there's still some sense in there, and that we don't have to give up on you yet. Now, at this point I would like for you to go back to the start of this thread and read it all over again. Once you're done and you have understood it, feel free to come back online and thank me for showing you the way.

hahah... I noticed this too... I was thinking, "This isn't an 'agreement' on anything...."

 

[King Lek]

But if they both agree that they will never agree...would they not then agree?

In any event...I still have no idea what Blackguard does when they are not touring.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

But if they both agree that they will never agree...would they not then agree?

In any event...I still have no idea what Blackguard does when they are not touring.

It's like asking what an intern does when he's not interning. The correct response should be "interning." They want to make that into a full-time job afterall.

 

[Prog_Please]

It's like asking what an intern does when he's not interning. The correct response should be "interning." They want to make that into a full-time job afterall.

I don't understand. Interns generally don't make as much as full time employees. When an intern is not interning, he should be going back to school so he can get a full time job NOT as an intern.

Maybe this is what you're saying, its just weird the way you phrase it. A full time job as an intern would suck. If you meant turning the internship into a "full time" salaried employee, then yeah, OK (but then thats not "interning").

Anyways, off topic since the thread isn't about interning.

Going back to the first month sales topic, it seems odd that if first month sales mattered so much, why would a band / label start planning a tour before the CD is released. Wouldn't they wait until after the sales are in to decide on if they should tour and how big of a venue they should play in? How often do bands change the venue based on CD sales being higher / lower than expected? For example, the Blind Guardian tour was set up way before the CD was released.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I don't understand. Interns generally don't make as much as full time employees. When an intern is not interning, he should be going back to school so he can get a full time job NOT as an intern.

Not only do they not only make as much as full-time employees, but they ususally don't make ANYTHING. Interns usually intern for gathering experience for their resume. When you generate enough of this experience, you can prove to the employer that you are experienced enough in the process to turn it into a full time job. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

Anyways, off topic since the thread isn't about interning.

It sort of is. Bands that want to be career bands just on the cusp of getting signed and releasing their album, eventually looking to turn their hard work into profitable exercise are no different than an intern looking to turn his or her internship into a full-time position.

oing back to the first month sales topic, it seems odd that if first month sales mattered so much, why would a band / label start planning a tour before the CD is released. Wouldn't they wait until after the sales are in to decide on if they should tour and how big of a venue they should play in? How often do bands change the venue based on CD sales being higher / lower than expected? For example, the Blind Guardian tour was set up way before the CD was released.

Because touring before the record yields hype. The band is fresh in the mind of the consumer who will hopefully buy the record. That said, the vast majority of labels have no control over what tours they can get their bands on. Some do, such as the aforementioned Sumerian and Noise Art, in which the label managers run very successful booking agencies. Some labels, like Roadrunner and Century Media are powerful enough to exert enough force in the matter and get really good offers for their bands. Over all though, most bands are subject to their respective agents, separate entities from the label.


The record company's primary job is to sell a CD to you. That's really it. They will get involved in touring affairs because touring generally yields sales.

 

[nomisofsiman]

To most 3 Inches of Blood dont have much credability with the lame metalcore screamer guy in the band. With this tour it will be Eluviete who will bring people in. I am sure they have sold less disc but thier live performance is what is the draw for them, not how many CD sales they had the first week the disc came out.

That growler never hurt the band. People actually liked the blend of vocals. Regardless though, even if what you said was true, it isn't true now since that "mealcore screamer" you are speaking of is no longer in the band and hasn't been ever since the production of their last album.