Worried about a leak?

[Danimal]

I wonder if there are others like this too, who got a leak of a band they were not fanatical enough about to run out and buy the CD.

Like I said, if I listen to it more than once, I go buy it. I don't need to be "fanatical" about it or totally LOVE it, or whatever... Maybe I am not like most people because I play in a band and know how much work goes into making a CD, but when I download something, it is truely for a "preview". If I only listen to it once and decide I don't care for it, I don't feel bad about "stealing" it. However, if I have the urge to go back and listen to it again, it must have made an impression on me and is worth my $12.

C'mon, its only $12... How many times have you shelled out $9 to go see a movie ONCE and it sucked? Why do people act like the band has to "earn" their right to have someone buy their CD? Even if you only listen to it casually, you are getting some sort of enjoyment out of it even if you are not a "fan boy"...

Sorry about the rant... This is not directed at you Jason, it is just my opinion...

 

[NvmbrsDoom5]

C'mon, its only $12... How many times have you shelled out $9 to go see a movie ONCE and it sucked? Why do people act like the band has to "earn" their right to have someone buy their CD? Even if you only listen to it casually, you are getting some sort of enjoyment out of it even if you are not a "fan boy"...

Yeah that's pretty much what I'm sayin'. Hell, you can go onto Ebay and often times find people who are selling new cds for even half as much as normal. So there's ways of actually buying the cd and being supportive without totally breaking the bank for most people.

 

[Limbonic]

I will own this, and probably just wait to buy it and encourage other friends to buy it as well, regardless if they download it or not, I can not wait to get my hands on the real thing though!

 

[the_drip]

To shorten things up a bit, I think its safe to say. If you want a band to keep releasing albums, then it's in your best interest to support them by purchasing a CD, attend their concert...no matter how shitty the rest of the bill is. And buy a t-shirt while you're at it.

I know assholes that download gigs and gigs of music and never buy a single CD and they think nothing of it. They all think, "well I'm just one person, someone else will buy it." but not when there's literally millions of people around the world with the exact train of thought, and that hyper-speed t3 connection. I agree it is mostly the teenager and college aged people who are doing this.

I myself download quite a bit of music...but I also purchase a ton of CDs each year. I probably spent around 1000 dollars on CD and Vinyl purchases since this time last year.

But I"ll re-iterate, if you like a band, purchase their music. If you've never heard of a band and want to check them out...there's not a real harm in downloading, at least you'll get the exposure, and if the band sucks ass...at least you didn't waste any money...but if you happen to like it...then go to a show...buy some merch...then get the CD when you get a chance. Dont' jsut sit nice adn cosy with yoru shitty 192 kbps burnt copy.

 

[Jasonic]

C'mon, its only $12... How many times have you shelled out $9 to go see a movie ONCE and it sucked? Why do people act like the band has to "earn" their right to have someone buy their CD? Even if you only listen to it casually, you are getting some sort of enjoyment out of it even if you are not a "fan boy"...

Sorry about the rant... This is not directed at you Jason, it is just my opinion...

I know what you mean, and no I don't take it personal.
If this were 5 years ago and I was not married and didn't have a kid, I would be back in the days where I was buying 5 CDs a week.
I do not have the extra cash flow though to spend on tunes like I used to.

 

[Dragon_Unearthed]

So, here's something I'd like to add to this topic and see what people think.....Does anyone here feel like it sorta ruins the experience for them when they download a leaked album early? Like, has anyone felt afterwards like they sorta wished they'd just have waited to get it when they could get the whole package all at once and have the experience of being surprised?

This is an interesting question...I was thinking about this right after you announced your European tour...and people are wondering if your new CD will be played then...but the CD isn't scheduled for release until early 2007? Of course, seeing ND live would be far better than waiting for the release...yet we all still wanna hear samples from Novella....we can't have the best of both worlds-HA! We want a little taste, and still want to be surprised, is this even possible? Not sure if this fits in with the leaking topic, but thought that the experience of a fresh new CD, in it's first spin to one's ears would still maybe be disappointing if you have already heard this, that and the other previously.

 

[BrandonS]

This is exactly why I like the whole idea of DIY. A band like ND, that is pretty well known, could drop the middle-men and produce the CD themselves if they learn how to do it, of course everything is a learn-as-you-go type experience. That way you'd cut out at least $30,000 of the budget to hire those mixing and mastering nincompoops! If you think you need who, swano and murphy, to mix and master your album, and spend $20 grand of the budget on that, that's fine, as I'm sure they would turn up some spectacular results, but you could learn to mix and master yourselves. I think it is possible for someone to successfully produce their own band's albums, have them printed up, and ship them out as well! Do you not think so? A band of ND's exposure could probably pull it off... ahhh well..

 

[the_drip]

ehhh...making a quality recording is expensive. Most bands can't afford it without help from a label. and simply don't have the time to learn how to properly operate recording software...aquire all the gear required to make a good recording. I know there's no way in hell my band will be able to afford recording a full length album DIY or using Dave O. again if we don't get some sort of deal for it. And since we did the EP with him, we sort of set a standard for ourselves....no more shitty cakewalk recordings.

 

[zmetallica]

Here's how i look at it. If I like a band enough that I want to hear it and "can't live without it" then I'll go support them. most of the crap I listen to is meh, background music if you will. A good portion of it through legal means.

When i get an album that is leaked, i don't feel bad when it comes out, since I am still excited for the release. audio is only a small part of the picture. I enjoy laying on my bed and looking at the liner notes/artwork/lyrics while the music is playing. If the band is meh, screw that since i can't get into the band enough. 12 dollars is a LOT of money for a CD. DVDs are 9 bux. DVDs cost MUCH more to make. CDs should be a max of 10 bux and I won't pay more, unless the band is really that kick ass or puts in bonus material.

I also know that I've gotten tons of my friends into bands that I'm only somewhat into and they become fanatical about them and buy all their CDs. In that sense, I feel I have done my duty to support the band. Also I share all my CDs with friends and they share some of theirs with me. I only listen to my mp3s on my computer and with my mp3 player. this means I won't listen to it on a stereo system, in my car, or anywhere else. technically I could hook up my mp3 player, but the quality is really bad and I'd rather just go out and buy the CD if I want to hear that song that badly (cause it means I really like the band).

About 90% of the bands I listen to has been from downloading them from a recommendation or something of that sort.

Lately if I don't love a band after about 10 listens after downloading them I'll just delete them.

The DIY route is the way to go right now, provided you know what you are doing and have access to a decent set up.

 

[the_drip]

since when were DVD's "9 bux" the only time I get one for under 15 is if its in the used bin.

 

[Novembers Paul]

C'mon, its only $12... How many times have you shelled out $9 to go see a movie ONCE and it sucked?

On the other side to this, how many times have you dished out over $12 for a CD and find other then 1 or 2 songs at best are good, and the rest of the CD sucks? In my opinion, bands need to step up the quality of their music, so track one is as good as ther last track. I can think of a few bands off the top of my head that I wish I had bought a song or two from iTunes for .99 each.

If a band wants fans to dish out their cash, when it's just as easy to download it, they had better write a full disc of awesome music.

 

[NvmbrsDoom5]

I had posted a large rebuttal to alot of the comments posted so far, but I decided to take it down because it was just too damn long and it got a bit more heated than I really intended it to be. I'm just gonna leave this one be rather than start a big arguement here that I really don't feel the desire to be bothered with.

 

[zmetallica]

since when were DVD's "9 bux" the only time I get one for under 15 is if its in the used bin.

really? most DVDs i see at best buy/circuit city when on the slightest sale is 7.99-9.99 and on brand new dvds for the first two weeks or so are 15.99. Even at 15.99 CDs should be drastically cheaper as they are a much older technology.

"If a band wants fans to dish out their cash, when it's just as easy to download it, they had better write a full disc of awesome music."

What I find happens to me more often is that one song rules and every other song sounds exactly like that one. That gets boring after a while. it may be something i'll buy used from a friend in a bundle of CDs together worth 10 bux, but i'm not spending. it isn't that the album has shitty music on it, but rather the same. If the band put out a single I would buy that and be happy. I refuse to use any online music service, the quality isn't as good as a CD, you don't get artwork, no physical product, and on top of that they limit you on how many CDs you can burn it to and how many computers you put it on. I recently read that if your HD fails and you've used up your "liscence" to YOUR music, you have to call some # and have them reset your "liscence". Last time I checked when I buy something, it is mine, I'm not renting it. Software has the same bs too. When you buy software it is for one computer. Imagine this: YOUR CD WILL ONLY WORK IN ONE CD PLAYER SORRY. It is the same crap, but I'm sure noone would stand for it if all CDs were like that. Most people don't even realize that they buy stuff on Itunes and it won't last a long time. I've had CDs for years, hell I've had CDs passed down to me from my brother. my parents still have tons of vinyl. 30 year old products that still work fine. If you buy that digital product, it won't last long. burned CDs aren't as good of a copy as a real CD. I know from experience. They last about 5-10 years in real life conditions. so if those 30 year old vinyls my parents have were CD-rs, they would be bad and not workable because they were bought off of i-tunes, since she couldn't burn them one more time for back up purposes. This is what the RIAA and fellow record companies want, they want you to go out and buy the same product again. If they started selling high quality MP3s or lossless audio without DRM that would rule, since it would last MUCH longer than CDs provided they continue to back it up (mp3 player, HD, CD-r after CD-r).

sorry about these continued long rants about this topic.

 

[Jasonic]

Larry -
Nah man, speak your mind!! This is an interesting debate.
We have all had this discussion with others in our personal lives at one time or another.

To Dan and Paul - Regarding the issue of "Well, it's only $12..."
Dan - I can see it that way, if you have the cash flow to drop over $100 a month on music. But as Paul said, that can result in owning a lot of discs that are so-so. I always refer to these albums as, "Listen to them once or twice, and then file away forever..." Bands that fall in this category are ones who release the SAME album over an over (Lots of the run of the mill power metal bands, like Primal Fear).

This is why I love a band like Novembers Doom. No two albums are the same, yet they never stray TOO far from their standard formula.

 

[Lionfrost]

Heh, if you have a hard time coughing up 12 dollars for a CD you should move to Europe. I pay an average of 15 euros for my CDs (euros - not dollars!) and that's a *good* price out here. I'm just saying.
Does it keep me from buying CDs, hence supporting the bands? Not quite - on the contrary. And no, I don't have a donkey that craps money in my backyard. I wish.

 

[Lionfrost]

Does anyone here feel like it sorta ruins the experience for them when they download a leaked album early?

Yes, it would. "Would" because I don't download leaked albums early. Screw that. Although part of the reason is principle, I guess I'm also too damn lazy to go looking for illegal downloads. I'd much rather hang around the record store for a good couple of hours and have them play a few dozen CDs for me.

 

[Lionfrost]

(...)right after you announced your European tour...and people are wondering if your new CD will be played then...but the CD isn't scheduled for release until early 2007? Of course, seeing ND live would be far better than waiting for the release...yet we all still wanna hear samples from Novella....we can't have the best of both worlds-HA! We want a little taste, and still want to be surprised, is this even possible?

I can only speak for myself, but I was basically just teasing the guys because there had been this preview thing in the parking lot at a gig. (Note to self: *always* mention it when being silly...! )
On the other hand if the band themselves decide it's okay for this or that person to hear a small preview of the upcoming album, then I will not be sticking my fingers in my ears if it turns out I'm either "this" or "that" person. Similarly to samples or advance songs offered by the band, they have their own say in what people get to hear in that it's their decision. I'd say that's slightly different than an illegal download.

 

[Lionfrost]

As a side note, I'd like to add I, too, think The End is a great label. They've signed a good few amazing bands and offer the metal underground great releases. I raise my hat for them.

 

[Jasonic]

As a side note, I'd like to add I, too, think The End is a great label. They've signed a good few amazing bands and offer the metal underground great releases. I raise my hat for them.

Agreed. Their mail order is top notch as well too!!!
They seem to push their bands well, and I have seen some of their released at big box stores such as Best Buy.

 

[Dragon_Unearthed]

I can only speak for myself, but I was basically just teasing the guys because there had been this preview thing in the parking lot at a gig. (Note to self: *always* mention it when being silly...! )
On the other hand if the band themselves decide it's okay for this or that person to hear a small preview of the upcoming album, then I will not be sticking my fingers in my ears if it turns out I'm either "this" or "that" person. Similarly to samples or advance songs offered by the band, they have their own say in what people get to hear in that it's their decision. I'd say that's slightly different than an illegal download.

Oh I agree completely, my comments where to the experience of hearing an entire album for the first time and being disappointed because there were no surprises.