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Posted on Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

Dave!Ack. I'm so tired that I barely made it through tonight's Veronica Mars. It didn't help that it was a fairly unspectacular episode... at least by Veronica Mars standards. Logan's big secret was kind of lame, and the entire "forbidden romance" crap with Keith was just laughable. All in all, it felt very much like a "filler" show to me until the whole "campus rapist" stuff is resolved. They need to bring back Wallace, Mac, and Weevil... it's not the same without them.

Microsoft released their ridiculously-name "ZUNE" media player today... along with the news that they are paying over $1 per player sold to Universal Music Group. Apparently Universal is extorting the money to compensate for music piracy on the internet...

"...these devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it," UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris says. "So it's time to get paid for it."

Oh really? JUST repositories for stolen music? I'm guessing "these devices" include iPods.

So did you just call me a thief?

Well frak you Mr. Morris. With the exception of two songs that I haven't been able to find for sale anywhere, I BUY all my music. That's TWO songs out of 5697. And when you say "it's time to get paid for it" are you talking about your greedy-ass music label or the artists who are being ripped off?

And it's not as if companies like Universal are helping solve the music piracy problem. The internet allows instant distribution of music world-wide, and yet Universal doesn't bother to distribute their artists "universally." Take the Norwegian group "a-ha" for instance. They signed on with Universal in May of 2004. In a press release, it was said that "Universal International are looking to fully exploit a-ha's latent potential in markets such as the USA and the United Kingdom." Well, their latest album Analogue was released just over a year ago... YET YOU STILL CAN'T BUY THE CD IN THE USA UNLESS YOU PAY $30 FOR A PRICEY IMPORT! And can you buy it at the iTunes Music Store in the US? No. No you cannot. Universal hasn't made it available there either.

So basically you are left with two choices: paying triple the cost of a domestic album... or pirating it. Well thanks a frakkin' heap Universal Music, you've pretty much GUARANTEED people are going to steal that album. Dumbasses. How hard is it to rip a CD and scan in the cover art for uploading to iTunes? I mean, if it's too hard to do yourself, I suppose you could always download Analogue off of BitTorrent or something.

Since I love a-ha, I paid the $30... but I was not at all happy about being ripped off like that.

And you're calling ME a thief.

What an asshole.

Wow, it's only 10:08pm? I haven't gone to bed that early in years...


Categories: Music 2006Click To It: Permalink
   

Comments

  1. The Chad says:

    I’m a mediocre music purchaser. I bought up every cd I could as a kid. Then I discoverd two things. Napster, and how much artist get ripped off. After that I think I only bought about 10 cds. But, since iTunes and my iPod, I’m all for buying individual songs.

    And I will never ever ever buy a zune. Especially not after they just abandoned their other music fiasco and left everybody else to rot, and their not allowing any music from that system onto the zune. Everything I’ve heard tells me to stay away.

  2. Mooselet says:

    What an ignorant dickhead. Sure there are people out there stealing music, but then again there are people out there committing all kinds of crime – arson, assault, murder. Don’t tar us all with the same brush.

    Note to self – do NOT buy stupidly named Zune EVER from a company that gives in to extortion (of course who would know more about that than Microsoft?).

  3. Jeff says:

    Well said. I buy all my tunes too. And I will continue to, as long as iTunes doesn’t get greedy and keeps the prices low enough.

  4. Avitable says:

    I thought VM had some nice lines, and the last few scenes were pretty hardcore. Some nice comedy between Piz and V, and having Vinnie Van Lowe come to the rescue was very cool.

  5. Wayne Hall says:

    I’ve always felt I’ve been in the minority since 99% of my 6000-song playlist was purchased on CD at one time or another. Basically, I buy what I like. I’ve ripped each of my CD’s at least four times as the technology got better, or my archive got wiped. I started way way early with lame to make my mp3’s on linux, back in ’98, and went through 300 CD’s in a few weeks. Then I realized 128k wasn’t good enough, and a new encoder came out, so I redid everything at VBR.

    I’ve redone them a few times again, just to get a better quality mp3.

    I love the idea of buying individual songs, and probably will someday. I just haven’t. I don’t expose myself to enough new stuff to want it.

    Oh, and I finally heard a commercial for Veronica Mars here in Austin (never seen the show; the closest I got was this blog and this one commercial). It starts off talking about Gilmore Girls, and all this drama, and then (gasp!) I hear “Veronica Mars” blahblahblah, and it’s on some local channel or something (not the “WB” but something that sounds like it), and it ends the commercial with “it’s the greatest girls night out, on TV”.

    shudder.

    So, is the show really that good? Would someone who primarily enjoys Stargate, Numb3rs, Simpsons, and can definitely watch-along-with-others shows like ER & Friends but can’t stand shows like CSI Miami, Cold Case, and most of the sitcoms out there… get into and watch Veronica Mars?

  6. jenny says:

    Totally agree on Veronica Mars – really dull. I was waiting for some good secret with Logan – pffft. Like who hasn’t done that?

    And where is Wallace these days?

  7. nancycle says:

    Music is meant to be shared.

    I purchase a coffee maker, I make coffee for friends. I have buy a sweater, if my company is cold I lend it.

    I know more musician, whom I’ve had these discussions with and often times, in the true spirit of creating, they are happy that their music is getting played.

    Don’t get me started on the cost of concert tickets Dave…

  8. Richard says:

    I know you bought the cd already, but did you checked online at cdnow.com? I just checked and I dont know if it’s the same CD you were looking for but they’ve got a “new-factory sealed” for $11. Again, I dont know if it’s the right one but thought I would pipe in.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000BI0QNC/ref=olp_tab_new/104-4036138-7439164?ie=UTF8&seller=&condition=new

    People actually watch VM for the plot? I thought it was just to see Kristen Bell as much as one could. (sorry, sometimes I’m immature)

    As far as the Zune is concerned, “can’t we all just get along?” Can anyone really bash the player itself without even have been in the same room with one? I understand that most comments are based on the principle of the device and the backbone of the services, but the machine itself is just another mp3 player. After reading that the Zune doesnt offer as many functions as an iPod I decided to do a quick survey. Out of the 50 people that I know that have iPods at their workstations, only about 10 of them have ever played a game, store contacts on it or use any of the “extra” features that the Zune doesnt have.

  9. diane says:

    10:08pm? I am filled with envy. I was still working at 11:30pm!! Blegh… no more of this, I demand it!

  10. dave says:

    I think its wrong for Microsoft to pay the companies for every zune sold. The Labels will start playing favorites, and the zune will become a monopoly for the online music stores.

    Why would a label stick with iTunes, when Microsoft will pay them. The labels will ditch all the other services, and Microsoft will pay them for every zune, and for the songs too.

    Then after the monopoly is made, the album prices will increase to what prices are at other stores… up to $25 for an album.

    I believe that after I buy the media, I can do what I want with it. Down with the labels, and the RIAA.

    Dang. This is one long comment.

  11. Laurence says:

    The worst with Zune, to pronounce it in English is as ridiculous as to pronounce it in French. 🙂

    I like to buy my CD in a store. I like the action. Because when I go in a music store, I want to buy all I can see. Then I listen to almost CD which I can and I buy CDs which did me the most pleasure. (consequence : my cdthèque does not resemble nothing. just what I like at a moment…). But I buy also on itunes if I wish just a piece which I like.

  12. I am with you on this one. When music started to become available via the internet, I was so excited at the idea of being able to get that import-b-side-demo-acoustic-peel session version without having to do a ton of legwork that I could not wait. The reality is far different, which is a shame.

    I would gladly pay if what I wanted was available. As it is now I spend waaaay to much cash at Gemm and Hard to Find records, and I do have to download some stuff that I have not paid for, which sucks, because I know musicians (especially those that I listen to) really need and deserve the money.

    Thanks for the heads up on Zune. They will not be getting any of my money.

  13. Charred says:

    Analogue is SO worth the $30, though!

  14. ChillyWilly says:

    Great post, Dave. And I agree with you on the whole Zune and Universal rant. Haven’t seen the Zune upclose, but the comment by Morris has been all over the online news media… mocking him for being an pompus ass and greedy mofo.

    Your point about cost is something the music execs will never get. Make it cheaper and more people will buy it. Make is easier to get and cheaper, and even more people will get in line to buy.

  15. Eve says:

    I have over 30,000 songs and my bank account can tell you that I paid for all of them! And as I recall, isn’t Universal’s music division known for the fact that they totally rip off the artists and hoard all the profits from sales for themselves? Frak them! That new Zune player definitely sounds wimpy and I don’t much like the looks of it either. I’ll stick with my new 80G video iPod, thank you.

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