I love Wilco and this is so cool!

<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://justafan.org/">justafan.org/</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->

Wow. That is pretty cool. What a great concept.

It also blends in with our discussion about Internet ruining sales for bands... Hmmm... maybe I need to rethink some things... :\

It does put a different spin on things alright.

Obviously a lot of people downloaded the Wilco album but then went out and bought it when it was finally released. I think the problem is downloading it so you don't have to buy it. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot ended up being their biggest hit despite the fact that many fans downloaded most of it. It appeared to work in their favour.

For those who don't know Wilco were without a record label for a while when Warner decided their album wasn't commercial enough, only for Nonesuch Records (which is owned by Warner) to effectively pay for the album again, when they signed with them! So the album was recorded and ready to go for ages and the internet was the only way to hear it.

Edited by: HJ Blume at: 4/8/04 1:59 pm

I don't really think it's cool at all. Just a marketing ploy. Oh well. I'll buy their album when it comes out, even though I've had it for a couple weeks. It's quite brilliant though, and Wilco is still my favourite band. <p>"Well then I just want to die." - Raleigh St Clair</p>

Raleigh! You really think this is a MARKETING PLOY? Really? How on earth does it help them, marketing wise - it appeals to maybe 8% of the population. I would think that big name labels and record executives would be totally against such a move...

I sort of do think it's marketing. Appealing to 8% of the population isn't a bad thing. Wilco knows their fans, and they know their fans are music fans who probably download a lot of music. Of course it's smart for them to embrace it, which is cool, but I just have to question people's motives. And I really doubt what big name labels and record executives think of them, since they never did anything for the band ever. <p>"Well then I just want to die." - Raleigh St Clair</p>

Um hmmm. I guess with stuff like this, I don't really care about the motives. I like the idea, and I'm glad it's being done. :)

I'm just cynical. :hat <p>"Well then I just want to die." - Raleigh St Clair</p>

ok guys I am seeing a lot of words like "most" and "many", these are not scientific words. I would like to see the statistics you guys saw that made you think the internet is ruining music sales. Has one major record label gone out of business? Has the number of independent record labels gotten smaller? Has the trend in Cd sales changed dramatically? If so, whatever, I can handle being wrong. I would just like to see a little research before allegations start flying. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->
Ba Da Ba Ba Baaah! I'm Lovin' it</p>

There was a story on Yahoo last week that had a study done by 2 different universities that showed that downloading music does not directly affect CD sales. I didn't read the whole thing, but I thought that was interesting.

If CD sales are down, it's because the state of the industry sucks balls. We're being flooded with copycat bands and people that can dance, but can't sing. Why the fuck would I buy a record by someone like Britney Spears?!?!?!
<p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->
"One great Rock Show can change the world" - Dewey Finn (Jack Black) in "School of Rock"</p>

I saw that story in a UK newspaper and it convinced me!
They charted downloads for each artist each week over the course of a few years and compared it to the record sales for that artist every week.
If I remember correctly they found that one song would have to be downloaded thousands of times (can't remember the exact number) before it affected the sale of one album.
A "spokesperson" for the record industry, said they had conducted their own research and found the opposite. So it looks like they will continue to sue those who share a lot of music on the internet.
It's a shame they don't turn their efforts from suing music fans, to nurturing new talent. They think we will want to buy a record because the so-called artist responsible is "cute" or good looking. Problem is that kind of music doesn't hold up in 10 years time. Whereas a band like the Velvet Underground didn't sell many records in their day, but they have continued to sell steadily over the years and probably always will.

As for Wilco, I've never seen them as the kind of band who would do something like this for publicity. Jeff Tweedy always seemed to me someone who was in it for the music. I dunno, I like to think there was good intentions behind it and I like the idea a lot. I hope the band isn't so cynical.

I still say it makes sense that record sales would be affected by downloading simply because I know so many cheap bastards that do it. I don't, but so many people do. Oh well. <p>"Well then I just want to die." - Raleigh St Clair</p>

years ago the record industry was claiming that people were hurting sales by taping music onto cassettes. i don't know anyone who feels guilty about getting a mix cd or tape from a friend. i know i have plenty of them, and have made lots of them for other people. downloading is just the newest, most convenient scapegoat for a bloated, corrupt industry that would have to make vast improvements to be as efficient or honest as the u.s government. <p>"Mr. Fischer was my father's name. Call me Bert, please."</p>

Only an idiot would compare taping music to downloading music. I'm sorry, but it's true. Taping casette is extremely labour intensive as compared to downloading music. Plus you have to spend money on casettes, you have to know someone with the album willing to tape it, etc. Downloading, on the other hand, is much simpler. I merely load up a client and I can get pretty much any album within a matter of minutes. Plus I can download 100 albums at once, whereas I could only tape on album at once. Also, the quality is much worse, whereas the quality of mp3s is good enough to not really notice a huge loss of data unless you're an audiophile or have an insane set-up. <p>"Well then I just want to die." - Raleigh St Clair</p>

Yes it might make sense if you just think about it, however for something to be factual it must be researched and documented, not just thought about, thats how environmentalism got started. I download way more music than the average person but I wouldn't buy most of the CD's I download anyway, and I certainly would never have heard of some of my favorite bands, and I wouldn't go to as many concerts. Its very easy to just say something affects something else when it seems clear that it would, but when you make decisions like that you are making a decision based on emotion rather than reason or logic. <p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END-->
Ba Da Ba Ba Baaah! I'm Lovin' it</p>