Bob Mould on Downloading

http://modulate.blogspot.com/

I totally understand the temptation to download tracks. The part that worries me, and I think it's justified, is that people will forget to pay. Let me draw a distinction between "the real Bob fans" and "the people who gather and trade music freely, without concern for the artists' livelihoods".

One of the sites which had the record neatly compressed for instant gratification is maintained by someone who is clearly a big fan. A fan who got caught up in the excitement, enjoyed the record, and wanted to share the forbidden (or not quite ready to eat) fruit. Understandable. the disconnect comes with making it so easily available. Let's say 20 people downloaded it during its' last day on the site. If all of them liked it, and told a few friends, and it continued on like that for the next NINE weeks, we can all guess how many people would have the full album. How many of these people do we think would pay for an official release on July 26? Hard to say, but as the music spreads away from the "real Bob fans" (and how do we make the distinction?), the odds become less and less that I will see any money for my work.

I think there's a great difference between sharing something directly with someone in a discreet manner, and making it available to everyone everywhere. It's the difference between tape trading (which it what everyone likens file sharing to) and wholesale distribution (think iTunes with less promotion and no fee required). I hope the analogy makes sense to some of you.

Here's a thought: if you absolutely HAVE TO HAVE the album before street date, do me (and the record company) a favor: as you're waiting for the files to download, head over to the Yep Roc site, and pre-order whichever configuration you prefer. I'll be happy, you'll sleep better at night, and maybe the record company will make enough money to put out another Bob record next year. Oh - there's vinyl coming as well.

I'm happy people are as excited about the record as I was when I finished it. Just don't be taking food off my table, OK? I work hard, and would like to be rewarded, same as all of you who go to work every day. I wish my life was so glamourous that I need not worry about paying bills, buying health insurance, or stashing a few bucks away for my retirement. Truth is: I work hard, and I expect to be paid for what I have to offer. Try to do the right thing, whatever that is these days.

He's got Rich Morel, Brendan Canty and Jason Narducy as his band for the tour. AWESOME!!

Bob's spot on about downloading… I'm appalled at the number of people tossing up entire albums in zip files for the purpose of downloading. Guess it's part of the same information must be free mentality blogsphere has in part adopted.

Why record companies wont prerelease a record digitially to those willing to preorder the physical product for a couple dollars extra is beyond me. They can DRM it whatever. Of course iTunes is now taking preorders for the new Coldplay why anyone would pay that much for a un CD quality tracks is beyone me. Then again people are dim…

This is why I'm a huge fan of streaming. I listen to albums online, then buy them or not based on whether I like them or think they may grow on me.

Of course, I'm no techie, so I couldn't 'rip' a streaming album to download it if my life depended on it. If they could develop streaming software that can't be downloaded (and, hence, shared), it'd be great to be able to preview albums.

I buy every Mould album regardless in order to support this brilliant man. Even that Modulate album, which I think I listened to once (but people were around so I don't think I was really listening…blah blah).

I have always been of the mindset that I should only download a pre-release if I've either (a) pre-ordered the album, or (b) so big of a fan of the artist that no matter how bad the record sucks, I'd be compelled to purchase it.

Just my personal opinion: An artist like Bob Mould shouldn't be as worried about theft as an artist like, say, Coldplay, because his fans are so compressed and rabid that the people who download it for free also want everything else involved with the album (the artwork, liner notes, etc…) so when it comes out, they'll still be the ones who buy it the first day it comes out. If I knew what website I could get the whole album from, I'd download it, but I also guarantee that on June 1st, I'll preorder the Limited Edition Deluxe package so I can hear the whole album, plus extras, when it comes out. I know so many people who don't even know who Bob is, that I don't even know who I would burn a copy for, much less who would like it, being so dancy and all. Even if they did like it, I would pressure them, in the strongest way, to purchase it, because of Bob's previous statements. On a side note, if it's ready to offer on a website, why isn't the album ready for purchase? If it's ready, release it! Wouldn't that eliminate a lot of theft? Cheers.

there are a lot of people that would download and then buy, yes. and there are people that download things simply because they can and wouldn't buy. but that's really not that much different than getting a cassette copy. how many purchases is he (or anyone else) actually losing from this? what it does is expose his music to a broader audience and perhaps some people will get it that might not have before and then buy it.

i mean i see pros and cons to the whole deal, but it just kind of bugs me when the record industry tries to claim losses from people that wouldn't be customers anyway.

i personally don't download albums or anything. i don't think i've downloaded an album before it came out since 2000? i'm honestly too terribly lazy to bother with it (and with checking out new music in general).