Slashdot Mirror
Eminem #2 on Gracenote... Before Release
asavage writes "According to this article on news.com
last week, Eminem's "The Eminem Show," which was yet to be released, cracked the chart at No. 2. This is the first time an unreleased CD has been number 2 on this list of CD's played in computers." I've pre-ordered my copy
and am looking forward to hearing it. But its pretty amazing that Gracenote
registers a pirated CD #2 without the benefit of it being for sale yet.
Thank god they shut down napster and stopped piracy.
Yahoo! is reporting that Gracenote (previously CDDB, an open source project) is planning to sell aggregate usage data to advertisers and such like. Makes me glad I use a freedb-based CD player (CD Max, for the curious).
Complexity is Easy. Simplicity is Hard.
Just like Spidey and Star Wars, The Eminem Show can be taken as a good test case for how piracy *really* affects sales.
In Spider-Man's and Star Wars's cases, it appears that the piracy either had no effect on the incredible revenue both movies generated, or actually had a marketing effect. People who downloaded the pirate version were *more* likely to go see the in-threater version.
I suspect that The Eminem Show will do the same thing. Just like a label pays a radio station to play a promo-only single before an album's release, the pirate copies of The Eminem Show will encourage people who hear them to go get the album.
Pay close attention to the figures, and when someone tries to tell you that 'piracy hurt the artist', recite them verbatim!
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Oh dear, my idealism is shattered, now that I know that Slashdot readers listen to "pop"ular music as opposed to only Pagannine, Vivaldi, and Mozart.
I just don't know how to handle this.
the Eminem CD was on the shelves and for sale at my local record store on May 21. i purchased it on May 24 (and have the receipt to prove it). of course, when i called the record store today to ask about when the initially put it in the shelves and started selling it, their reply was "Today!". when i told them i purchased it from them on May 24, their reply was "that's entirely possible". when i then asked again when they started selling it, they replied "Today!". i think they were afraid that i might be a spy for the RIAA. ;)
-- ken williams
"Thus, "The Eminem Show," originally slated for a June 4 release, hit stores Sunday -- an unusual step, as albums are typically released on Tuesdays. That move came after it was earlier announced that the release date would be pushed up to today -- roughly two weeks after the album's unsanctioned Internet debut."
story Here
I agree and disagree. Watching a crappy divx rip of Spidey or AOTC makes me want to appreciate their full glory on the big screen with decent sound.
.... not bother buying it.
Listening to a near perfect copy of the CD version, makes me want to
I think that piracy definately adds to the buzz of a product, but its much easier to justify the cost of the actual product when the quality for the 'real thing' is substantially better than the pirated version.
I was in the mall to pick up some old skool music (Nerf Herder rules!!!), and I saw it on the shelves. I also saw the note that it won't be released until June, but whatever dude.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
The two (well, 3) cases are pretty much incomparable. The bootleg versions of AotC and Spidey are much poorer quality than you will see in the theatre. Comparing a compressed DivX version taken from a guy with a camcorder in the theatre (which is the version of AotC that I saw making the rounds on the net) is nothing like seeing it in the theatre for yourself. The Eminem bootleg sounds (for most people) exactly like what they would get from the real thing. For most people, they have already bought their copy of the Cd, and unless there is some "super secret" extra on the official release, there isn't a reason to buy another version. The liner notes are not enough incentive for most people to spend $15 on a cd they already bought without liner notes for $5. But seeing a decent version of AotC is worth $15 even though they already spent $5 on a crappy pirated version that isn't near the quality.
"Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
They increase the price of new music in order to make up for supposed piracy, which in turn makes people more likely to pirate. Its a catch22 of the WORSE kind.
...a way to pirate music that the artist hasn't even written yet
Too late...
The Beatles already did that to Oasis.
- StaticLimit
Celine Dion fans don't know how to use a computer.
"What is the sound of one belly slapping?"
Geeze, I'll bet you still have your autographed copy of the "Cool as Ice" video too.
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
If you ask to receive their Top20 each week, you will read this :
:-)
Get the Digital Top 20 emailed to your mailbox every Tuesday! Be the first to know who's gone up, who's gone down and who's at #1.
Click here if you want TEXT email (recommended for Outlook email users)
Click here if you want HTML email (recommended for NON-Outlook email users)
!!!!!!!!!
Does this mean that Gracenote could be infected with the Klez virus or something else, so oulook users should receive text messages, just in case?
This goes to show just how much the RIAA needs to change it's sales models. They're still depending on air play to hype up people to purchasing a album. But no one wants to wait the weeks or months for them to release them. So those pirating are making out like bandits on the people who want it now.
Just having the assumption that they can eliminate piracy and continue using the same sales tactics isn't going to show the improvement of CD sales they're looking for. They should be releasing the albums for sale at the same time tracks are released for airplay. Then impulse buyers can run out and get the CDs immediately. If buyers have to wait for the overly far away release dates they will look to other means of getting what they want.
I think the same really applies to most media nowadays. Movies should be released for purchase sooner, TV shows should be released when their seasons finish, and so on. The public are tired of having to wait for what they want. Once it's been released and aired you should be able to purchase it then. You'll then have the choice of a possibly inferior in someway pirated copy or the real thing.
I wonder if the promotional versions of that radio stations and others recieve were somewhat different, say fewer tracks, for the public releases what will these pre-released bootleg versions be? Promotional releases are controlled so they should monitor that.
However now they'll just focus on the piracy issue and the public will suffer from it.
I'm a fairly major player in the MP3 "scene" if you will. The proper releases (this stuff rarely hits the P2P networks in all it's glory) are done by people who know what they're doing and rip things with good software. If all the tracks are from a proper release, and burned using DAO, they will almost always be recognized by CDDB services as the original CD. People ripping for P2P nets though generally use low bitrates and bad encoders (Realjuke, AudioCatalyst and the like). Not to mention that most people using P2P networks don't bother to ensure that all tracks are complete, from the same source rip, and of reasonable quality. Thus small differences in encoders/rippers (are track delays recorded in the preceding track, or the subsequent one?) result in different final CDs. Rest assured, however, that the people who know what they're doing (and there are thousands of us) get proper copies, distribute them to our friends, and burn copies for anyone who asks. Hence the numbers on Gracenote. Don't think the mp3 scene is as disorganized as it appears from the P2P crap, the real underground scene is very organized, well structured, and produces good releases.
Sorry for the AC, I dunno how much crap I could get in if some copyright nazi read this and investigated what I do.
I just checked on gracenote's site.
"The Eminem show" is now on top, number 1, the most-played this week.
I downloaded the album in MP3 and immediately made a music CD of it. When I put it into a Windows box and Winamp queried CDDB, it came back as Eminem/The Eminem Show. And obviously, I'm not the only one who's done this. I just wonder what percentage of the early discs are MP3 downloads and what percentage are physical copies someone bought...
Perl - $Just @when->$you ${thought} s/yn/tax/ &couldn\'t %get $worse;
The original release date was June 4th, but due to 'rampant piracy' the release was pushed up a week. It was officially released today.
MTV News Article
Andrew
His lack of talent and musical skills is what scares me.
Wow, the analytical mind of Slashdot. I would argue that if there was one artist who has an excess of talent when compared to the Corporate Songwriting of America, it is Eminem. Yes, I am aware that the vast majority of Slashdot hates rap/hip-hop, and Eminem makes an easy target, but your logic escapes me: he's just white! he a poser "whitebread" trying to make black music! and even if he was black, RAP SUX, so I win anyways!
C'mon, I know this is your opinion, and the 4 posts directly below yours as well, but I think we can agree that a.) Eminem writes his own songs, b.) Eminem performs his own songs, and c.) Eminem has a command of the English language [his ryhming schemes, on a poetically-analyzed level, are very complex]. All of the above point to the fact that Eminem does have musical talent. I am assuming that you think he sucks because he doesn't play classic rock or perhaps early 90's alt-rock, those untouchable bastions of geek-musicdom that everyone is assumed to like.
Eminem's got a lot of problems, plus he says "fuck" a lot, which as we all know causes Satan to enter childrens' groins [thanks Seanbaby], but I think his lack of talent is not one of those problems.
"What we elect to call imagination is mere combination of things not heretofore combined." - Frank Norris
What a coincidence; it's also unplayable in CD players due the horrible sounds that come out of the speakers when you hit the play button.
</end recycled joke>
share and enjoy
I won't agree that he writes his own songs. Were you with him when he wrote them? I think most people would be amazed at how little most pop musicians contribute to the actual music on an album. Madonna doesn't write any of her music, and never has. As for performing his songs, I wasn't aware he played any instruments. I thought he just held a microphone on stage, and occasionally performed goofy antics like dressing up as Jason Vorhees. Just look at the credits for his last album [barnesandnoble.com] Doesn't appear he played any instruments. "primary artist" is a very vague term, one I would be willing to bet was invented by a studio exec.
His command of the English language is a very subjective thing, and at that point we're getting more into the content of his songs, not the actual music talent involved.
It is very easy to see if he writes his own songs. Look at the liner notes, and see if M. Mathers appears under the written by credit. I believe it does. If you don't wish to believe that credit, then you are too cynical to be swayed by any argument of mine, so stop reading now.
As to your second point, many musicians have, as you so callously put it, "just held a microphone on stage". Are opera singers musicians? Are gospel singers musicans? I believe that your argument just insulted hundreds of artists, perhaps even some that you hold in a high regard (though I admit you don't stipulate what makes one a musucian, thus your entire musical worldview could consist of Celtic drum beats, and I would have to admit defeat based on your subjective point of view).
One more thing, I can't see a reason why what Eminem wears has anything to do with his value as a musician. Christ, John Lennon was running around naked on camera, with a naked woman no less. [Flamers please note my sarcasm].
Finally, if you would like to dismiss Eminem out-of-hand for the content of his songs, then pass Go and collect $200. It's very easy to dismiss artists that put society's collective taboos and psychoses on display. Personally, I believe that one can experience a sort of catharsis from albums such as this one, if only when you realize that your life is so much better than the nightmarish hell that Slim Shady/Eminem/Marshall Mathers seems to inhabit.
"What we elect to call imagination is mere combination of things not heretofore combined." - Frank Norris
Record Label A pays $X,XXX,XXX to rent the #2 position for a week, to promote their artist, while Record Label B pays $X,XXX,XXX for #4, #11, #24 and so on, and so on.. Its carved up like a pie with the best slice given to the highest bidder. Wake up.
This is bullshit folks. My brother works with one of the biggest rock bands in the country, and hangs out with the guys in the band. He is good friends with the guy that manages the band, and gets to see the exact sales numbers each week. The billboard charts are absolutely legit.
The burden of proof is on you, if you want to dispute the validity of a standard chart like that.
C) This is neither news for nerds, nor stuff that matters. I just opened a site for the Linux community, to give them a place to share desktop themes without all the foo-foo bullshit of Freshmeat/Themes.org. I tried submitting the opening announcement here no less than 3 times, and had it rejected every time. Meanwhile, you want to tell your Oprah book club about controversy that isn't really a controversy. You running a infomercial site now, Rob?
Sounds like you'd rather he allow you to post your infomercial, so why are you bitching? I'd much rather read about a possibly large case of internet piracy than YATS (yet another theme site).
BTW, I checked out your site, and it sucks.
Now that's a flame.
"And like that