Next Big Sound (a/o May 24th):
We've seen this bizarre, 'steal my album' message from major superstars before. But does this really help the artist, or merely confuse fans, alienate marketing and label teams, and make it harder for the artist to sell premiums down the road?
Well, let's see how it all pans out for Elvis Costello. The singer is now urging fans not to purchase his soon-to-be-released box set, The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook, available for $202.63 on pre-order at Amazon. This is stuffed with a CD, DVD, illustrations, photographs, and even a vinyl 10-inch.
But it's also wildly overpriced, according to Costello, despite frustrating efforts to lower the tag. Which led to this: in a blog post titled 'Steal This Record,' Costello called the pricetag on Songbook as 'either a misprint or satire,' while describing fruitless attempts to lower the price. Unfortunately, Costello doesn't have the final say here, and the Hip-O/UMG release was priced accordingly. "All our attempts to have this number revised have been fruitless," Costello said.
The label could have budged here, and decided not to piss off an important artist. Then again, what if some fans are more than willing to pay this amount? Fans that have known and loved Costello for decades, will gladly pay exorbitant fees for front-row or luxury seats, or spare no expense for rare memorabilia? Isn't this like telling a willing buyer that the BMW is indeed overpriced and not worth it?
Then, there's the piracy problem, and the question of why Costello is telling older fans to steal. The argument is that overpriced music leads to piracy, justifies it, and has forced legitimate music towards the fringes. But is the typical file-swapper even in the market for this type of high-end product? Costello leads with 'Steal This Record,' and ends by suggesting that fans may have already swapped the content. "If on the other hand you should still want to hear and view the component parts of the above mentioned elaborate hoax, then those items will be available separately at a more affordable price in the New Year, assuming that you have not already obtained them by more unconventional means," Costello said.
The complete blog post is here, and the Amazon listing is here.
Julian Wednesday, November 30, 2011
He isn't so much telling people to steal all his music as he is saying "don't buy this rip-off boxset."
I say he did a good thing...
brooklyn habitat Wednesday, November 30, 2011
the blog post has the title "Steal This Record"
James Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Titling his blog post 'Steal This Record' was misguided and irresponsible, but I'd guess he was just trying to be funny, because the following day - http://www.elviscostello.com/news/lets-make-things-sparkling-clear/255 - he clarifies it with the statement, "If you should still want the component items in the above mentioned elaborate hoax, they will be available separately at a more affordable price in the New Year, unless you are one of those pirates who imagines they are evangelists or that other people’s rights absolve their own thievery, in which case this is between you and your dim conscience." [my italics]
REMatwork Wednesday, November 30, 2011
kudos to Elvis for unmasking the record industry ugliness.
I have skipped his show the last few tours. I'll be sure to make it this time around.
blastjacket Wednesday, November 30, 2011
MisterSoftee Wednesday, November 30, 2011
NEWSFLASH
It's called 'Price Differentiation' and they teach it in ECON 101
People are price insensitive at that level. The grubbing Costello fan won't even NOTICE this exists but the well off fans will snap it up for a stocking stuffer.
Visitor Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Nice marketing ploy by Elvis and his label. I see all the sheep are responding well.
nathan Wednesday, November 30, 2011
So tired of this posturing. Dance with the devil, then you gotta play by their rules.
@Who_Is_YPP Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Yanni Peary
$200 for 1 CD, 1 DVD + 10" EP, wtf?
@sonicviz Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Paul Cohen
Go Elvis!
So sad Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Basic +10 year old tactic to grab attention to a name. Viral marketing for dummies. Funny how it still works in the late 2011 internets. I thought all this free information Google is so proud of, is making the world smarter and more sensitive to this kind of shit. No. Old tricks still work just fine. Who the fuck cares about the truth anymore.
Elvis Costello should pay more attention to where he puts his signature. It seems like he signed a contract at some point, but he is not happy with its terms anymore.
Or was he kidnapped, drugged and submitted to horrible acts of torture in order to accept the deal?
@VillalobosJara Wednesday, November 30, 2011
D.V.
Costello pide que pirateen su nuevo disco y algunos creen que lo dice en serio.
mdti Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Once you understand that the real big money for artists is now in concerts and big tours... it makes sense to make yourself known, even if it is unfair to all of those who can't/don't make gigs if it becomes a common strategy ....
mdti Wednesday, November 30, 2011
a reader said
>>>>>
I have skipped his show the last few tours. I'll be sure to make it this time around.
>>>>>
That's what I am talking about :-)
Sincere wishes of good luck to Elvis costello :-)
Econ Thursday, December 01, 2011
While I understand Elvis' point, I'm going to side with Uni on this one, if it is meant as a limited edition collectable item. The re-sale price of the item on eBay would probably be higher, and if it's not a limited edition then the price will come down if supply exceeds demand.
When Costello's catalog shifted to Uni his earliest albums were re-released after having been re-releeased by Rhino just 5 years earlier. Some fans' reaction was "Elvis is greedy" and Elvis' response was "You don't HAVE to buy them." That was the right response then, and he probably should have stuck to it.
Jack White took similar heat from fans on his limited edition White Striped releases. His attitude, which I agree with, is "the price is going to be somewhere near X on ebay once the 100 copies are gone, so I'm better off pricing them near X now."
Devon Spencer Thursday, December 01, 2011
It appears the price has increased on Amazon to $261.89.
Devon Spencer Thursday, December 01, 2011
Sorry, forgot the link.
http://www.amazon.com/Return-Spectacular-Spinning-Songbook-Deluxe/dp/B005O607UI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322658783&sr=8-1#productPromotion
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