ok i realise you'll pick this to pieces
.. but could this be a way forward?
promo gubbins :
KIDS BECOMES FIRST UK LABEL TO OFFER FREE MP3 VERSIONS TO VINYL BUYERS
London-based independent record label Kids will become the first UK label to
offer free MP3 versions of releases bought on vinyl. Kids, which has
released three sell-out vinyl-only singles in less than six months since
starting up, is challenging the common industry practice of restricting the
ways in which music fans can listen to music they've bought. The single
'Believable' by L.A.-based Mighty Six Ninety, released 13th March, will be
the first release for which free versions of both tracks will be available
to vinyl buyers.
Label boss Dave said: "People who buy our records love the physical quality
of the releases, but they also want to be able to listen to the music
wherever they want, particularly on their iPods. Why should someone have to
buy it once for the vinyl, then pay to download it again for their MP3
player? We want to show the rest of the industry that digital technology can
complement, not threaten, traditional releases."
Lacking the budget for a high-tech solution as used by US label Saddle
Creek, Kids will put a slip of paper with a randomly selected word into each
vinyl. When the buyer e-mails the label with this word, they'll be e-mailed
full MP3s of all the tracks on that release.
Vinyl single sales showed an 84 percent annual increase from 2004 to 2005,
but it is currently very difficult to convert vinyl into a digital format
for listening on an MP3 player. Many tracks released on vinyl can also be
bought online, but even then there are compatibility issues caused by the
deliberate use of different file formats: tracks bought from the HMV and
Virgin digital stores cannot be played on iPods, and tracks bought on iTunes
can only be used on authorised computers. By contrast, the MP3s given away
by Kids will be completely unprotected and will work on any digital music
device.
Whilst a major label is applying controversial copy protection software to
its releases and the BPI is suing suspected file-sharers, Kids is
unconcerned about the impact that unprotected MP3s might have on its sales:
"If people pass on the MP3s to their friends, then it shows that the buyer
has confidence in the music, and so his or her friend is likely to buy the
physical record and become interested in the other Kids releases. It's a
win-win situation, and it's a fair deal for the buyers of our records."
― mark e (mark e), Friday, 24 February 2006 14:20 (twenty years ago)
never read that as i have never heard of Merge
.. off to check .. ta for the pointer ..
― mark e (mark e), Friday, 24 February 2006 14:34 (twenty years ago)
No, it's actually the source of the name itself which amuses/horrifies me.
Thus. The band I've never heard of.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 24 February 2006 16:19 (twenty years ago)
you see that name meant absolutely nothing to me till you pointed that out.
oh, and just so you know the tracks i heard so far are pretty crappy (theatrical pop), but i do like the Whip, despite them featuring ex-Nylon Pylon folks. ha.
― mark e (mark e), Friday, 24 February 2006 16:25 (twenty years ago)
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a dream about this like a week ago. Then I woke up, rolled over, and told my girlfriend that we were going to be rich.
Why does someone always steal my ideas?
― James Saint Hobbins, Friday, 24 February 2006 18:51 (twenty years ago)