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ProgRobUK View Drop Down
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Points: 76 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: New Marillion album to be free to download
    Posted: September 10 2008 at 06:34
From the BBC News website today (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7606029.stm):
 

Rock group Marillion are to make their new album available as a free download through file-sharing websites.

But a pop-up box will appear on computer screens when the tracks are first played, encouraging fans to give the band their e-mail address.

Keyboardist Mark Kelly said downloaders would be contacted with offers of gig tickets and other merchandise, to try to make some money back for the band.

"We're willing to try new things and we want to see what happens," he said.

"Everybody's aware of the effect of peer-to-peer file-sharing on CD sales and the music industry in general," he told the BBC News website.

"Up until recently we've felt fairly immune to that because the fans have been really supportive of the band and, I suppose, because of the age demographic, they do tend to prefer CDs to downloads."

Bands have been exploring new ways to release music in recent months, with Radiohead making their last album available online on a pay-what-you-like basis and Prince giving his most recent CD away with a newspaper.

Kelly acknowledged that making Marillion's music available for free was against his natural instinct - "we come from a long tradition of selling it".

But he still expected fans would buy the CD version of Happiness is the Road when it is released on 20 October.

"People forget Radiohead were still number one in the album charts," he added.

"They also say they weren't very successful because they only got an average of £2 per download.

"But they wouldn't have got £2 per sale from [record company] EMI, so in those terms it was actually a big success, and they still sold CDs."

'Loyal fanbase'

Paul Williams, who edits record industry publication Music Week, said Marillion had always been "pretty ground-breaking in terms of doing things differently and they have a very loyal fanbase".

Taking that into consideration, he said, the download plan would "probably work for them quite successfully".

Marillion have bypassed record companies in the past by asking fans to pay for albums before recording began, thereby securing funds for studio time.

"Most acts these days certainly don't make their fortunes based on the traditional way of selling recorded music," Mr Williams noted.

Any thoughts?
Rob
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aprusso View Drop Down
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Points: 313 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 09:59
I'll buy the album anyway
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Points: 494 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 10:26
I've pre-ordered it.
 
I would much rather have the cd than some crap mp3.
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Points: 13 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 10:27
Yeah, my pre-order album will arrive in the next week or two.

However, kudos to Marillion for rolling the dice.  A lot of people will probably download the free tracks and give them a whirl - especially as MIsplaced Childhood is being given away free with the Daily Mail in a week or so.

The band should build up a good database of email addresses (you only get the mpg files if you give a valid email).

And Marillion have a lot of extra product to sell to any new fans who get hooked in this way.  After all, this is their 15th studio release!
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Points: 81 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 10:40
I can't be bothered downloading the album now, either. I'd rather listen to the FLAC once I've ripped my pre-ordered CDs.

I got the impression that this is not so much about trying new avenues because they think giving it away is a good thing, as facing the inevitable fact that the album will end-up on P2P anyway, so if they release it at least they might be able to reach some people through the pop-up thingy and email.

I suspect, however, that the pop-up will probably be ignored either because those sorts of people probably really don't care that much about music (they certainly don't value it financially) or because they think that the email address will be passed to the authorities and before they know it they've got a nice friendly solicitor's letter LOL

Edit: damn typos!


Edited by Jorvik - September 10 2008 at 10:41
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Points: 13 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 10:43
You may be right - but as I understand it, you dont get the mpg without sending in your email, and the wma file they are making widely available cannot be ripped to ipods etc.
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Points: 4079 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 10:50

I hope I like this one. The last release, to me, was marginal.
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Points: 81 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 10:55
Is the actual album only going to be released in WMA then rather than MP3?

I did wonder how the pop-up thing was going to work – I didn't think you could do such DRM-like things with MP3, but I wouldn't really know as I won't go near them (either WMA or MP3 actually).

If the album is only going to be in MP3, isn't that going to annoy Mac users? I wonder how long it'll be before someone just rips the album from CD and seeds a torrent with that, bypassing what Marillion are trying to achieve. I suppose at least they are giving it a shot.
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Points: 13 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 10:55
The buzz amongst thsoe that have listened to the download (I haven't, as I am waiting for the 'real' CD) is very good indeed.  There was a promo posted yesterday on YouTube which promises great things

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CI_OlG3FV5s
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Points: 13 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 10:58
The actual album will be released on CD - therefore rippable as whatever you want?

Obviously, files in all formats will turn up eventually when the CD is released - but the band have flooded the torrent sites with the tagged wma files - and there are no physical copies of the CD available yet.


Edited by yorkiemarillion - September 10 2008 at 10:59
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Points: 81 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 11:00
Originally posted by StyLaZyn StyLaZyn wrote:

I hope I like this one. The last release, to me, was marginal.



I'm with you on that one.

Each successive album seems to generate more and more hyperbole from certain fans. For me, Anoraknophobia is the best thing they've done in recent years and Marbles was so-so, with about one CD's worth of really decent music.

I wasn't at all impressed with Somewhere Else, although I'll admit I've not listened to it a huge amount (there wasn't enough to make me want to listen to it more or at least give it the benefit of the doubt) and I've not listened to it for a while. Hell, I'm not listened to any Marillion in a while; I think I need to start gearing up for the new release and listen to a load and get in the right frame of mind.
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Points: 13 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 11:03
Well the bonus of this one is that you can try it all out for free if you want!
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Points: 81 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 11:06
Originally posted by yorkiemarillion yorkiemarillion wrote:

The actual album will be released on CD - therefore rippable as whatever you want?


Really? I never would have realised – I thought I'd pre-ordered MP3s  Wink Tongue

Originally posted by yorkiemarillion yorkiemarillion wrote:

Obviously, files in all formats will turn up eventually when the CD is released - but the band have flooded the torrent sites with the tagged wma files - and there are no physical copies of the CD available yet.


That was what I was getting at. So they're flooding the torrents with WMAs – I think you'll be right about other formats turning up once the CD is released. Have the torrents been flooded already? If so, I think they've done the right thing; hopefully they'll be able to steal a march between now and when the CD comes out and other formats inevitably appear.
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Points: 81 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 11:07
Originally posted by yorkiemarillion yorkiemarillion wrote:

Well the bonus of this one is that you can try it all out for free if you want!


It's 30 quid and many months too late for that now LOL
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Points: 7910 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 11:26
I caved and am listening to it now. The same thing happened a few years ago when I worked with the country rock band Poco in the design of their album Running Horse and got a copy LONG before it was released. It took nothing away from the actual product when it arrived.

As for Happiness Is The Road, it's absolutely stunning. I haven't heard a stinker so far (on "Planet Marzipan" right now). If I feel like this in a few months, then I could like it more than Marbles. First impressions is it's a masterpiece. It really is.

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Points: 28057 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 12:07
Aw this is nice. Hug

I was gonna download it anyway, at least for the time being. (I really cannot spare that much money now). But now I will be sure to buy it later.
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Points: 320 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 12:15
this is just sad
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Points: 7910 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 12:28
It's my understanding that it's only available to those who have pre-ordered the album anyway, but I could be wrong.

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Points: 28057 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 13:07
Weird DRM stuff, man. I dunno even how this works Confused DRM pisses off people like nothing else, and the torrent community is probably not the best thing to piss off. 
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Points: 2696 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2008 at 13:15
Originally posted by stonebeard stonebeard wrote:

Weird DRM stuff, man. I dunno even how this works Confused DRM pisses off people like nothing else, and the torrent community is probably not the best thing to piss off. 
 
OR
 
the torrent thieving community is probably not the best thing to piss off.
 
LOLLOLLOL
 
 
Why,  prey tell,  is it not a good idea to piss off the poor hard done by torrenters?
 
 
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