Prog Artists Gaps on Amazon Music

I'm a long time fan of Triumvirat. Sadly, none of their titles are contained in the Amazon Music catalog (even with Unlimited service). Their catalog does appear on Spotify. 

One of the most annoying gaps in Spotify's catalogue for sure. Fortunately for us all of their albums ARE actually there, but they are "region locked" in the US. I have tried to download a VPN to bypass this but it didn't work. 

presdoug wrote: ranjo364 wrote: I'm a long time fan of Triumvirat. Sadly, none of their titles are contained in the Amazon Music catalog (even with Unlimited service). Their catalog does appear on Spotify.  Trying to locate a contact for owners of EMI / EMI Electrola Gmbh to inquire and or inspire licensing to Amazon. So far, only found umusicstoresupport and submitted a request there. Open to suggestions. Best, John R I am a huge fan of Triumvirat, myself. It doesn't help that Juergen Fritz has distanced himself completely from anything Triumvirat related for a very long time.         I have inquired about Helmut Koellen's solo album being put onto cd (it should have happened long ago) but I got no response from my request.            Sorry, I can not be of much help at this time. I am friends on facebook with band members and friends and family of band members, but nothing concrete in Triumvirat developments at this time.

I know that ownership of EMI/Electrola was taken over years back by the Universal Music Group. You might try there, but I inquired with them about Helmut's album, and got zero response. 

Manuel wrote: Fortunately, I got their music on CDs a while ago, and uploaded them to my computer, so I can hear them anytime I want. Great band.

Edited by Criswell - May 29 2024 at 08:20

Neal Morse has his Waterfall website, so I think that he is trying to encourage fans to sign up there to access his music.  The problem with that, is that you end up paying a similar monthly fee to access Waterfall and its limited catalogue as you do to access the larger Spotify or Amazon catalogues.  Kudos to him for trying to get more out of the digital market then he would get out of the pitiful commissions that he would receive from the larger platforms.

presdoug wrote: ... I am a huge fan of Triumvirat, myself. It doesn't help that Juergen Fritz has distanced himself completely from anything Triumvirat related for a very long time.         I have inquired about Helmut Koellen's solo album being put onto cd (it should have happened long ago) but I got no response from my request.            Sorry, I can not be of much help at this time. I am friends on facebook with band members and friends and family of band members, but nothing concrete in Triumvirat developments at this time.

How is being anti-streaming self-indulgent and snobbish?

It's not. What is tho is the Samurai's stubbornness to the point they go around removing people's uploads of their music to YT etc. Like, do they really not want free advertisement?

For a band as undgerground as Samurai of Prog to blow so much cash into producing their albums is, in my opinion, plain sunk cost. B)

moshkito wrote: presdoug wrote: ... I am a huge fan of Triumvirat, myself. It doesn't help that Juergen Fritz has distanced himself completely from anything Triumvirat related for a very long time.         I have inquired about Helmut Koellen's solo album being put onto cd (it should have happened long ago) but I got no response from my request.            Sorry, I can not be of much help at this time. I am friends on facebook with band members and friends and family of band members, but nothing concrete in Triumvirat developments at this time. Hi, The sad side of these details is that no website is obligated to carry anything, specially if it doesn't sell ... let's say that in 30 days, only one purchase was made ... and chances are that it will be removed from the inventory to make space/place for something else. The fact that the members of the band are not making a better effort, I think only means one thing ... they obviously do not think much of their own music ... and probably didn't enjoy so much trashy comments about their work going back to the start. I had the album from the first, but can not say that it was a "favorite" at all ... but it was a nice listen, and when I replayed it for the first time in years a couple of months ago, I have to admit that it did not hit me very well ... it felt more like someone was trying to prove that they could play ... and make a song ... and hope for the best.  Regardless of who they are, for the sake of the commercial side of it, the band has to stick together ... but it's easier to say that the members of the band that are still alive, obviously do not think much of their work, in order to stand by it. Very sad state of affairs! What we don't know, or understand is how much of this was an issue based on EMI and HIpgnosis when they first appeared ... I don't find the cover does the band any favors!

There have been some more recent developments with Triumvirat members, Juergen Fritz is soon releasing an album called "Triumvirat Melodies", which shows that deep inside, Triumvirat's music meant something substantial to him, that time could not erode....singers Barry Palmer and David Hanselmann still believe in the music, and are working on some things related to Triumvirat.....for a band that has been disbanded since 1981, this recent band member activity and the fact that they still have devoted fans as evidenced on the net (I am not the only one!) is pretty amazing. When the Triumvirat.net website started in the 1990s, there was an email newsletter subscription that had fans signing up for from literally all four corners of the world...which I also find astounding....I must also say that their music had stood the test of time for me really well, as well as for the other members of the worldwide Triumvirat community....let's all (including me!) try not to be dismissive of this great band, and see what recent developments may produce...

moshkito wrote: presdoug wrote: ... There have been some more recent developments with Triumvirat members, Juergen Fritz is soon releasing an album called "Triumvirat Melodies", which shows that deep inside, Triumvirat's music meant something substantial to him, that time could not erode....singers Barry Palmer and David Hanselmann still believe in the music, and are working on some things related to Triumvirat.....for a band that has been disbanded since 1981, this recent band member activity and the fact that they still have devoted fans as evidenced on the net (I am not the only one!) is pretty amazing. ... let's all (including me!) try not to be dismissive of this great band, and see what recent developments may produce... Hi, It's never my idea to be dismissive of any band ... the courage and desire it takes to get that far, is, by itself an incredible achievement, and some folks, when they get older, seem to not appreciate them as much, but the fact remains that a part of their lives is in it, and it has to be celebrated some ... you can't live a productive life being dismissive of your past ... it's counter productive. You have to make peace with it, is how I look at it, however, this might suggest that one member or two, were more in control of things musically, as to create enough tension to end up with situations like this. One can only hope that it gets better, and they should realize that TODAY, the band is far more KNOWN and APPRECIATED than it was 40 years ago when as a youth they took their chances with their work. However, I imagine that the folks/management of Triumvirat ... strikes me they don't have any representation, or things would be more "together" ... should/could try to find a way to start selling their own, and not depend on anyone else ... specially when there are massive stories around as to how some bands made it ... PT made it from SW selling cassettes from his garage. Marillion in the 90's had a really hard time, and then turned to their fans, who pretty much helped them put together at least 2 more albums ... in other words, there are many ways and the Internet is your friend, and wanting to rely on Amazon or anyone else, is a bit scary ... they only care/worry about numbers ... PERIOD. And Triumvirat would have to have mp3's to help sell more stuff on the site, for example. It's a strange strange trip ... regardless how we look at it ... and we just have to hope that the artists themselves can start to gather more controls of their own work for their benefit ...

Thanks for your reply,  moshkito.  Triumvirat, especially in the early, and most crucial days, I'm certain were not managed properly-even in a 1980 interview with Juergen Fritz, he called their early manager "an idiot".

Edited by presdoug - June 01 2024 at 14:52