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| The Citizen |
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Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2005 4:40 pm
Posts: 14183
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Regarding dmodave's comment about the launch party cd gift as being 'ridiculous:'
No, I disagree, it's not ridiculous at all. It's simply a way to encourage sufficient ticket sales to fund the production of the event, and a personal 'thank you' to those fans who came along to support it, as I've explained many times in various posts.
There was never going to be a physical Blip 2 cd beyond the ones allocated to ticket holders...but there is going to be a Blip 2 download and probably a Blip 1 download also. So, in the end, everyone gets a chance to hear the music, and support the artist, which is ultimately what it's all about.
Regarding couples or families only being allowed one copy 'per household.' This has been discussed in the past but it proved a thorny subject. Maybe it could be done by having a cheaper priced ticket for couples but that adds further complications, not least in raising sufficient funds from tickets to put the event on in the first place. Blip 2 was included as part of the ticket price to the launch party...To get one, you had to buy a ticket. It's as simple as that.
However, I'm sure some people might have been attracted by the fact that a limited edition disc would eventually have a re-sale value beyond that of the event's ticket price. (Sometimes WAY beyond the ticket price, as evidenced by the £300 plus which was made by whoever put his wife's copies up for sale on the day following the party.)
And here's a thought: I, as the artist, have my own extra copies of both albums. These go into my personal archives for posterity. Some of them I will give to family and close friends. I could, however, have put a pair of them on ebay the day after the party and made £300 plus for my own pocket, but I didn't, (though it would have been very useful to offset the high cost of Tink's recent vet bills, for instance.  ) I wonder what you would have thought of me if I did such a thing? I would probably have been accused of cashing in by the very same people who defend their right to do exactly that. 
Those of you who have attended Nelsonica over the last few years will know that I sometimes turn up a spare copy or two of an out of print, rare album and offer them for sale at the Nelsonica merch stall...but they're always at a much more affordable price than the same albums being sold privately on ebay. I'd feel uncomfortable accepting such high amounts for an album and cdr, especially when the music on those discs was soon to be made available as a download. But that's just me...my ethical stance on this sort of thing isn't neccesarily anyone else's and the lure of making a profit on ebay will prove irresistible for some people. And, as we keep being told, people are free to do what they want with these things, whether or not others think it's ethical.
The equally difficult thing for me to understand is why anyone would pay, (or could afford to pay,) such high sums for music which will soon be available in download form for a mere fraction of the ebay price.
I don't know, maybe these apparently well-heeled purchasers are buying as an investment, imagining future rarity value and even higher prices when I'm gone from this world. Maybe it's a worthwhile purchase for a dealer. But I know that I'd rather they spend that money supporting the artist by purchasing albums from the source as I release them! 
So, once again, the 500 versus 1,000 copies thing is entirely down to demand. For all the recent moaning about only pressing 500 copies, that figure is dictated by sales...and 1,000 copies no longer seems tenable. As I've said, I'd rather it was otherwise, but it's the marketplace that calls the shots, not me. Perhaps it will be wise to not hesitate over future album releases as, from now on, there will only ever be 500 copies of each release, worldwide. Which is, in many ways, shameful.
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) didn't write 'that' . It was dmodave who proposed that the ticket price including the cd was ridiculous .
