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Not everyones too happy w a vinyl only release. Norwegian musicsite Groove has a debate going
http://www.groove.no/html/article/55143545.html
could someone please translate what that article is about? seems to include some interesting facts, but as i do not speak norwegian it is nearly impossible to understand a word. :idea:
Google translate service strikes again;
Hope this helps a bit for you non-norwegians
Well to sum up: The author is pissed at MP and Rune Gramofon for releasing the next album only on vinyl. He feels that MP and Rune are marginalizing an already marginalized audience by doing so, and are limiting their musical ventures to those with a record player, which he states is about 20 % of the listening market. The phraze EGO TRIP is tossed around abit too.
In shorter: Doing this is like pissing on their fans, and themselves, as he fears that their sales will plummit due to this vinyl only release.
But heck, it’s MP’s call right?! If nobody buys the record, then nobody suffers like they’ll do. Becides. It would be kind of weird for MP to take the “Prostitution” route when celebrating 20 years of being free to do what they want, without any corporate strings attached. And i think the odd paychonaut here and there will understand this, and find a way around this problem, instead of slapping the hand that has fed them excellent music for 20 years now.
word.
and since when do motorpsycho give a shit about the record sales? they just put out the music that they like to do, if people buy it, the better. but it’s not like they have become multimillionaires by selling billions of records so that suddenly they would start to worry about making a few million dollars (or whatever currency you like) more or less…
What matters is that MP is releasing new music. I don’t think they are ego, it’s just a materialisation of their eccentricity. What matters is that MP is releasing new music. The only thing that confuses/worries me a bit is that MP must be aware that the LP will be ripped to digital format, and most likely a rip that sounds crap. Does MP want their fans to listen to a bad quality rip of their most current release? I think not. I don’t own a record player, thus I will have to rip the LP after buying it. I’m not very happy about that, but at least I then get to listen to the new MP release whenever I want.
How thoughtful of the author to be concerned about Rune G and MP’s sales figures! What is that all about?
I’ve resisted adding to this thread up until now. But it’s time. Seriously, being at Roadburn felt like reconnecting to the true spirit of music, of concert-going, of record-buying, of being an independent listener, and above all being a participant in some extremely gratifying and exciting alchemy, not a bloody @%$#@! consumer.
Here’s some nourishing food for thought, from an interview with Neurosis’ Steve von Till
[source: http://nightseminar.blogspot.com/2008/09/interview-with-steve-von-till-friday.html%5D
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R.: You don’t have such a huge commercial success but you are very well critically acclaimed and you lead a label. But it doesn’t pay that much, does it?
Steve Von Till: Music’s an expensive hobby. [laughs] The only times we were able to survive off it – and not that that was ever a goal – is when we were touring full time and you had to be gone every single day of your life. And that’s not a worthwhile life. We like to be productive people and you can only be productive for one and a half hours a day and the rest of the day you are in a room worse than this just sitting, not being able to raise your children, write music or anything. It’s all not worth it.
We’re well over the thousand show threshold and that’s when enough is enough. Let’s go home and just play the shows we wanna play, when we wanna play, when it makes sense with our life so we have balance to do this because this has to have balance, this has to be important. It can’t be something that can be compromised by ever chasing a Dollar.
Anybody thinking they can make a living off of independent music I think is fooling themselves anyway.
Some people can if they keep it small and stripped down and they really struggle and they’re willing to go out there and do it but very few people can – it should never be expected. It’s ridiculous to think.
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Oh haven’t seen this thread yet. I’m with you all there. There’s no reason to be pissed at the band nor Rune. That would be like being pissed every month they don’t release anything.
Von Till has a healthy point.
Quote:being a participant in some extremely gratifying and exciting alchemy, not a bloody @%$#@! consumer.well put, too.
Well, even though I am a big fan, and want to throw all my money after the guys in the band, I’m a bit upset by this.
The band effectively silences their own voice in the everlasting debate about file sharing, because, let’s face it, this album might as well been released directly to piratebay, who of us would even consider buying a LP-player of acceptable quality (4-500 euros) “just” to listen to this, when within a week of the release it will be available as a download from somewhere? – and how can the band “complain” about piracy, when they don’t make their music available by any acceptable legal channels?
I appreciate the bands eccentricity as much as anyone, but this time, they’ve simply overcooked it. I accept their principles, and their loyalty towards Vinyl as a medium, but one thing is limiting availability, which could be done 10 years ago, but trying to effectively fight availability like this, is like taking a 12 gauge shotgun to your foot, it won’t do you much good.
I encourage Motorpsycho to be the eccentric, challenging and mind-boggling band they’ve been the last 20 years, and I thank them for all the psychedelic moments they’ve provided me with for the last 15 years, but, and I know this is a controversial stand in this forum, Motorpsycho should focus on being Motorpsycho in content, not in form – wake up and smell the 1 and 0’s!
-stalemate
a record player for 500 euros???? where do you live?
and generally, please stop this debate. the band wants a vinly only release, so what? there might be a year when they don’t release anything at all. will we complain about that too?
to me it doesn’t matter too. it is simply consequent. btw, the next album after “cotf” might be a normal release again. it is just their way to celebrate the 20 years i think. and wasn’t there something about a spectacular cover design? imagine space ritual from hawkwind as cd. would be boring when you know how the lp-cover looks like.
It so just happens that I’m a audiofreak, (and about that, all the albums except Blissard, the “pop”-albums and Barracuda has crap sound quality. They really should at least consider using more than two dimes on the production. There, I’ve said it, now break out the pitchforks and torches everyone) but still, a 100-euro player, I still think it’s asking too much.
I for one, don’t spend much time on the artwork, except for perhaps Demon Box, Angels and daemons, Trust us, Roadworks and a couple of the ep’s, it’s been “meh” comming from mr Hiortøy (in my opinion, now break out the tar barrels and start plucking the chickens).
If the band wishes to release it on just vinyl, that’s actually fine by me, by all means, but what I’m sorry for is the limitations this creates for me buying the album, then sending a small fee to the guys, which I think they’ve more than earned over the years especially on what is their 20th anniversary.
And I think this is a discussion worth having, I can see and arguments that this is all a part of the bands intensions, to be a counterweight to the mainstream, or even a band that doesn’t give f*ckall about the other music, a challenger to its fans, and so forth, and this, 20th anniversary and all, should be an opportunity to show the bands soul and purpose, and wrap it nicely into something that only perhaps 20% of it’s fans can aquire and play in a legal way – I think that’s a bit, the word I’m looking for is actually “arrogant” here, and may I be torched and sent to a Lady Gaga feat. Crazy frog – concert for it, but that’s actually how I feel about this.
I really don’t see what statement it would be to be amongst the greatest bands of all time (i.m.o.), and then limit its availability to a minimum, but again, maybe I’m not a true enough follower on this.
MP to the people I say!
-stalemate
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