In Britain, the term used to be applied to a young lady that was deemed unattractive... No doubt something equally objectionable is used these days among those men still in the mating game...
Surely you must accept that there are a lot of Dylan nuts (particularly those who live outside the U.S.) - some maybe even as committed as your good self - who wouldn't buy the 18CD set?
I can't speak for anyone but myself. However, I can tell you that, although I am not a rich man, I did not have a single moment of doubt about pre-ordering the 18CD set on the day it was announced. For me, this is the stuff I've dreamed of hearing since becoming a Dylan fan 30 years ago. How other people define their commitment, and manage their money, is none of my business. If it's just about the music, and you don't need all the bells and whistles, then you needn't spend a penny.
Personally I find that kinda sad. Shows that the "affordability" and "scarcity" arguments aren't really valid in the Bit Torrent world. Would be interested to know if people here are ok with this kind of thing? Is it a kind of rebellious "music should be free, screw the man!" sort of thing, or are people just opportunistic and if they can get it for free they'll take it?
Same for me. I'm by no means a wealthy person, but I was able to put this on the credit card & ultimately...yes it's a luxury indulgence - but financially I'll survive. I'm glad I splashed out.
Why not just get the free VOX Player from the Mac AppStore and use that to play them back -without conversion ? You can even listen from that app via AirPlay too.
Just back from a week in France and finally have the new vinyl issues of the "Electric Trilogy" in my mitts. So for those interested.... Save your money. These are not upgrades, remixes or remasters. In fact, their reason for being is unknown. They are the same mono reissues as last time except this time, they bear the Sony Legacy imprimatur. Slightly different labels, a sticker and some extra Sony copyright info on the rear. In fact, they even bear the the MOVLP deadwax, so thanks for making this clear, Sony. Sigh. File under "already got 'em" section.
Thanks. I did pick up 'Bringing It All Back Home' simply because I didn't have a decent Vinyl copy & it was cheap. If that's your reason for picking these up then they're good enough.
They're fine. It's just that I'd bought them when the mono copies were reissued separately as Music On Vinyl releases. I realise that it was nothing but speculation that these might be remixed copies. That said, the word mono on them somewhere might have been helpful. I did buy Nashville Skyline for the same reason as you bought BIABH. It too, as evidenced by the deadwax, is stamped for them by MOV.
A bit late to this, but a quick question for UK purchasers of the 18CD box - does the rather extortionate $90.05 shipping charge include customs charges?
That's true, but they never made it easy for anyone to get these sets in the past *excluding torrent sites of course.
And 2 sets still available on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xdylan cutting 18 cd.TRS0&_nkw=dylan cutting 18 cd&_sacat=0
I know! And you need to have the cash to pay the driver or phone up UPS the morning of the delivery or it will go back..
Well based on my personal experience and observations there are 4 main download groups: 1) It seems a lot of people download something just to try it out as casually. These are people who would never pay for the release to begin with. I think this is why we see more downloads for the 6 disc set then the 18 disc set. 2) Then you have children (8-12 years old) who might be starting an interest in music as a hobby and are exploring things. I am actually more convinced that for this group it is beneficial, as if music becomes a hobby, they are likely to start actually buying things later in life. 3) Then of course you have people in third world countries who's annual income is less then Big Blue, and/or where CDs are not readily available locally and are often sold far above the suggested retail price asked in the developed world etc. 4) Then there are people who believe that you should never pay for something you can easily get for free (legally or otherwise), what they would argue is just plain financial sense. Along with this group I include people who download stuff as a protest against the record labels, or for other philosophical reasons. All in all, if illegal file sharing was suddenly eliminated from the world, I bet only 5-10% of those downloads would mean added sales of any kind (in other words group 4 is small compared to groups 1-3). At the same time, it seems that downloading keeps music alive as a form of entertainment (in competition with film and video games) and leads to futures sales (groups 1-2 vs 4). Again this is all based on personal experience - having lived in a third world country for many years, having been in high school when Napster was at its peak, having been in college when most major torrent sites were readily available, and now seeing all these same people, married with children, and their entertainment habits (purchasing entertainment vs. downloading). PS. It has always annoyed me that in places where people earn 20-50 USD a week, a typical new, legal CD or DVD that would cost 10 USD in the US, sells for 40 USD there.
Or set a trap, wherein the driver gets his/her foot stuck in a hole while you (in a Dylan mask) take the item without paying the surtax.
Interesting idea, but I think that may be described as somewhat of a short term plan. Not long term enough for you to listen to the whole set before your door got broken down. I'll have the Dylan mask off you though if you're not using it.
I think you've identified the torrent groups correctly, but in this case I think the fourth group constitutes much more than your estimate of 5-10%. Casual listeners and beginners are not downloading 18 discs (or, probably, even 6) of Dylan sessions. So a lot of what you say makes sense, but I find it a little too apologist myself. I think there are a lot more of the entitled and hypocritical who think it's fine to whine about the price of the set (even though they could afford it), and then steal it from a torrent site.
I agree with you largely. I used to download music so that I could give it a listen before deciding whether to buy the CD. If I didn't buy the CD I would delete the download. Now I use Spotify to demo the music, if I like it I'll buy the CD or high definition download. Either way the artist gets some amount of money, however pitiful. I don't like stealing music from the artist, and I think authorised downloads and streaming offer record companies ways to promote their music, just like the radio did. Music theft is always going to happen, but if it's outweighed by increased sales that should soften the blow.
