IDM Mailing Archive

A big thanks to everyone who replied! Response was overwhelming (and surprising): 61 Total Respondents 3 Only downloaded Caustic Window .mp3s 16 Only purchased Caustic Window 23 Downloaded, then purchased Caustic Window 7 Only downloaded Autechre Peel Session .mp3s 20 Only purchased Ae Peel Session 26 Downloaded, then purchased Ae Peel Session Some sample comments:

quoted 2 lines I definitely couldn't stand to have MP3 as the only version of music I

>I definitely couldn't stand to have MP3 as the only version of music I >liked.

quoted 1 line The mp3s just don't do the original [Ae Peel Session] justice..

>The mp3s just don't do the original [Ae Peel Session] justice..

quoted 4 lines [Caustic Window .mp3 download only] That's mostly to do with my opinion

>[Caustic Window .mp3 download only] That's mostly to do with my opinion >of the stuff that's on the album as opposed to available through MP3. >"Popcorn" and "R2D2" are pretty good, the other stuff is pretty dodgy. >And I own J9ii.

quoted 9 lines First I downloaded the Caustic Window .mp3 files

>First I downloaded the Caustic Window .mp3 files >Then I purchased the Caustic Window comp >Then I downloaded the Autechre Peel Session .mp3 files >Then I purchased the Autechre Peel Session >also did the same for BoC's Music has the right to children, Autechre's LP5, >all of Aphex's albums, all of Mu-Ziq's albums etc... >Things I've just gotten MP3s for, never bought: some early SKAM releases, >hard to find Aphex Twin releases, early BoC (I.e. stuff that I couldn't buy >even if I wanted)

My interpretation: While IDM probably isn't representative of the record buying public as a whole (how many Macarena trainspotters are there?), I'm fairly sure that the list's collective actions are the same as those of Warp's more profitable customers (i.e. those that buy albums & singles by different artists, not those that just buy an occasional single for one song). Therefore, I wouldn't use the results of this poll to make blanket statements about the impact of .mp3s on the record industry as a whole. But it should yield useful data for interpreting the impact on small electronica labels. More people both downloaded and purchased. This suggests : 1) some people would have purchased anyway, but were forced to download due to commercial unavailability; 2) some people downloaded, liked what they heard, and decided to buy; 3) some people downloaded, did not like what they heard, and did not buy; 4) some people downloaded and liked what they heard, but chose not to purchase. I'm sure they have their reasons. I bet they're not spending any less money on music, though. Che Original Poll Questions: A quick poll: Have you: [] downloaded the Caustic Window .mp3 files [] purchased the Caustic Window comp [] downloaded the Autechre Peel Session .mp3 files [] purchased the Autechre Peel Session X any that apply. Please reply to me only, and please be honest. I won't tell anyone if you've been naughty, but I will post the totals grouped according to download only, purchase only, and download & purchase.

quoted 5 lines i would be *very* interested to hear comments on this from

> i would be *very* interested to hear comments on this from > greg. unfortunately, our dealings, as a list, with him have > been less than civil in the past, and i would not be in > the least alarmed if he declined. we really should learn > to cool our tempers around here a bit.

Maybe if he were to do so as well...