MP3s Gone - A Lament

Hey Grumpyprogfan

I don't know when Prog Archives first started on the internet. But I became aware of the site, not long after it first started. And it was common for me to spend hours every day, going through it's pages. And I think almost since it's beginning, it had a player on it's homepage that was loaded with new MP3s. And then any page that was dedicated to a band, also had a separate player of MP3s specific to that band. So it was in that respect, a true archive. Because every MP3 that was ever loaded onto the site, was archived. Eventually being stored on the page of the band that created that music.

As for finding new music. In some ways, my saying that, could be somewhat misleading. More accurately, I come to find music new to me. It may be music that was released many years ago, but that I have never heard, or I'm not aware of yet. And I'm usually always open to hearing anything once. So I like having the opportunity to listen to anything that I haven't heard yet. Especially if that specific band has created a verifiable reputation, that says they're worth hearing. But it's also true that I'm always open to hearing newly released music. Especially in the genres that are represented on Prog Archives.

I haven't spent much time in the forums. So I'm not really aware of the trend that you spoke of. Where you said there's a focus on many of the old prog groups. I grew up with those groups, and have an appreciation of them. But I've never been the type that could stop looking for something new. For example, one of the most respected prog releases of all time by Yes; Close To The Edge. Some time before that album was released, I read a review of that album, in some magazine that I subscribed to at the time. And I mailordered that album in vinyl, not long after I read that review. Because I was familiar with some of Yes' previous music, and was excitedly anticipating any new music they would release. To this day, that's still one of my favorite prog albums.

But I can't allow myself to get stuck in the past. I'm also very interested in any of the newer bands that you can find on Prog Archives. This is especially true in the Symphonic Prog, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Crossover Prog, Eclectic Prog, Heavy Prog and Fusion genres. There are a few other genres that I also like, but those are the main ones. Tell me something about the genres or bands that you like. I think it's worth exploring some conversation back and forth, to see if there's anything that we could recommend to each other. That's something I like doing.

As for the other prog sites that you mentioned. I am aware of DPRP, and I've also spent a lot of time on that site and go back to it regularly. And Bandcamp and Spotify aren't specific to prog, but they're both pretty good. I especially like Bandcamp, because it's common for a band to have their entire CDs loaded onto that site. And there's a lot of bands from Prog Archives, that also have a presence on Bandcamp. In a few cases, I wanted to buy a band's CD from Bandcamp. But that specific band didn't create a CD, and only MP3s were available. I really like having a disc version of the music, to use for backup just in case the MP3 version somehow gets lost. I haven't heard of the other prog sites that you mentioned, so thanks for those. I'll try and get to those sites at some time in the near future, as time allows.

I just wanted to give you a reply. Because of the quality of your reply, plus the empathy you showed. I'm recently without work, because of the pandemic. And I have a lot of free time, that's partially used in communicating. Thanks and hope to hear from you again. My real name is Darrell.

First I'd like to say..... This isn't a criticism. It's really more a lament..... It's about the removal of MP3s from the Prog Archives site.

Prog Archives has been my own personal homepage, almost since it's beginning. I became aware of Prog Archives, very near the beginning, when it first arrived on the internet. And it was my habit to spend a lot of time going through it's pages. I have a lifelong interest in Prog, and many of the other genres on this site. So it was common for me to come onto the site, and spend many hours reading and listening. Simply out of a passion for finding new good music to listen to.

Added to all this, is the fact that I've never really made a lot of money in my life. And too many times in the past, I'd bought recorded music before hearing any preview, and came to find I didn't like the band. The result, was having bought a CD to listen to once, and then have it go unused forever. So the free MP3s were a good way for me to listen to a band, before buying any of their music. After I'd established that I liked their music, then I was more likely to buy their CDs. So in a very real way, the free MP3s could eventually lead to some income for that band. They were a very good way of previewing the music. Since the MP3s were removed, I've still maintained the Prog Archives as my homepage. But now it's far more difficult to hear any of these bands, before buying anything.

I know that the MP3s were removed from this site a long time ago. But I still long for the time, when I could go onto the site and have a chance to listen to new music. It was really one of the great pleasures of my life. And I owe a great debt of gratitude, to all the people responsible for keeping this site up for all these years. They're the main reason, that I've been able to discover and hear so many great bands. And I really, really miss being able to come and listen to new music. Even after all this time.

I can recall, in the not-too-distant past. Coming home from work, and hurriedly going to the Prog Archives site. To check if there was any new music, loaded onto the player on their home page. And the excitement that I would feel, when I saw that someone had recently uploaded multiple new tunes to that player. Having that opportunity to discover all those new bands and music, was one of the great pleasures of my life. And over time I gradually found many new bands that I came to like. And came to discover new genres that I also came to like.

I know there are many other free sources on the internet, for being able to hear many of these bands. But there are still bands that for whatever reason, aren't able to have sites. And it might be that someone among the Prog Archives group, would have some of this band's music. And could then, submit some of it to the site, as an MP3. In many ways this could actually be a service to such a group. That for whatever reason wasn't able to have a site for their own MP3s. It could establish a wider audience for that band, and give the band a greater chance of commercial success.

I've been wanting to say this, since I first saw that MP3s were removed from Prog Archives. And with my recent loss of work, I was finally able to make some time to for this writing. I don't really expect these words to change anything; I really understand why the MP3s were taken away; it's a valid reason. But in a perfect world, there would be a way for Prog Archives to keep posting them. And the Prog Archives group would keep sharing them through this site. And this would continue throughout the Prog Archives community, in our ongoing evolution through music.

Prog Archives is very good at providing a means to introduce us to so many types of important music. And I'm interested in hearing what anyone else might want to contribute to this conversation. Because being able to listen, is the very core of why we're all coming to this site.