I have to respect Radiohead for their approach selling their last album online. Allowing people to pay what they feel they should is pure genius & in the capitalist world most of us live in it could well be considered revolutionary. As I typed in what I figured it was worth to me (ie there will be 3 songs I love, 3 that grow on me & the rest I don’t care for) I imagined some suit in some old school music company board room sweating as their role in the circus was made redundant. And it was, sorry, we really don’t need you anymore… but if its any help job hunting, I hear Britney needs help…
Anyway its been intriguing to see how Sigur Ros traverse similar ground. They undoubtedly have a loyal following who do not need to be spoon fed by the man. And their albums are eagerly awaited upon. I happily downloaded a free song, watched the video & emailed a bunch of friends & suggested they check it out… and a week later auditioned the whole album via streaming. The stream sounds mono & audio bandwidth limited, but any fan of Sigur Ros knows their record production is excellent so disbelief was immediately suspended… And so time to pre-order…. More so than Radiohead, this is where Sigur Ros get it even more right – check the options for the album release, in reverse order of cheapest/most immediate:
1. ALBUM DOWNLOAD US$16 – DRM free 320kbps mp3’s available week of 23rd June
2. CD ALBUM US$23 – CD will arrive the week of 23rd June
3. CD ALBUM + ALBUM DOWNLOAD US$26 – download album + bonus videos a week early on 16th June, CD will arrive the week of 23rd June
4. DELUXE EDITION US$100 – Deluxe Edition will arrive mid-September 192-pages. 300 mm x 240 mm. Includes CD and exclusive DVD. Pre-release album download + bonus videos available on 16th June CD will arrive the week of 23rd June
Ok so I get it, 4 levels of fandom
Now if there is one thing I know of having dealt with a few dozen online sales agents over the years is that once decided it MUST BE EASY to pay for stuff. I joined paypal a decade or more ago & it is EASY & very secure. So give me the option of using it. Sigur Ros dont. Ok. Now I really dont want to open an account with you just to buy a one off album, but what? you require me to…. well ok… if you insist…. Ok so now you require me to choose a password that I will NEVER remember… Turns out this is my second time buying via this agent & I still have no idea what my password is, then or now, because you & only you require a level of abstraction of password characters that no one else has in a decade of shopping online… sure ok, email me my old password… my dissatisfaction with your process is quickly growing…. you had it so right, instant gratification to the ipod kids right thru to collectables for the true OCD fans, but i’m starting to lose interest… ten maybe fifteen minutes later the email arrives with my new temporary password; put it in, next step… oh WTF!?! error? No clues as to whether its my credit card limit, a postal/territory issue, typo or what…. & I check, my card has clear funds…. Click & Buy? As if… I think i’ll wait until the CD turns up instore, and even then my immediate feeling will be one of FCK that stupid checkout sh+t! And to think I was trying to buy the Deluxe US$100 version… Now I dont even care….
The main reason I buy music online is because I get it now (or close to it). A few years ago I used to read of a new/imminent release online & then go down to the local record store & ask them about it. Usually they hadn’t heard of it & had no record of it, or it seemed interest in it. Accordingly the standard response was ‘we can get it in for you in six weeks”. Thanks I would reply, but please don’t bother…
The moral of this rant is: DONT MAKE IT HARD TO BUY YOUR MUSIC ONLINE… please, I cant be bothered.. I will go listen to something else, cos god knows there is plenty else out there to listen to…. Radiohead 1, Sigur Ros Nil
