quoted 9 lines 1. keeping the file size down made the file transfer less costly.>> 1. keeping the file size down made the file transfer less costly.
>> imagine the server charges from their ISP by multiplying 48MB by over
>> a
>> million downloads, and realize it would have ben even higher for
>> bigger
>> files.
>
> This would be true if they used a standard ISP to distribute the files
> but they didn't. Bandwidth is becoming very very cheap these days.
i'm not privy to exact numbers, especially not in england, or with
whatever special deal they probably struck up. all i know is 2 years
ago i discussed the ISP/bandwidth issue with the webmaster of one of
their biggest fansites and he was getting hit hard. i'd imagine the
official site would have similar issues.
quoted 12 lines 2. *they* still prefer hard copy releases and know many of their fans>> 2. *they* still prefer hard copy releases and know many of their fans
>> do, and maybe wanted to show the difference/give something extra for
>> those who end up buying both the mp3s because they can't wait and the
>> hard copy at better quality.
>
> What they did was very cleverly leaked their own album. Hail To The
> Thief was leaked in unfinished format, which they were very annoyed
> with.
> This time, there were no promo copies or unfinished mixes floating
> around (I would assume because they didn't have a record label to keep
> up to date?), so they were free to release it how and when they wanted
> to.
right, good point. they figured it was going to happen anyway so they
did it themselves and found a way to make money off it. they are in a
unique situation however, or at least rare, in that they have a devoted
fanbase waiting for their every move. the artists in that situation
got into that position with the help of recording labels/marketing.
quoted 3 lines It's still coming out on regular CD (January 2008 is slated as a> It's still coming out on regular CD (January 2008 is slated as a
> possible release date) on probably a major label, so it wasn't that
> revolutionary what they did.
the word now is it may actually be licensed to a series of "indie"
labels, the north american one being run by dave matthews' manager, and
marketed by XL recordings worldwide.
releasing it in multiple formats is their way of acknowledging that we
are in a state of flux. personally i do not believe mp3's are the
be-all-end-all of the format wars. regardless, you can't turn your
back on those who still want a physical copy specifically dedicated to
one artist release (as several respondents to this thread have
demonstrated).
d.
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