Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Music The Pixies to Fans: "Fuck You, Fuck You, Fuck You, Give Us All Your Money"
Posted by Mike Conklin on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 2:52 PM
Comments (17)
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Considering the way the music industry is going, this is a really smart way for artists to continue to make money off of records. They're giving fans exclusive, new content, and giving them a reason to continue to buy from them. I think it's a great idea, especially if it's super-exclusive content that won't ever be available again. Huge (and not so huge) fans will gladly splash out $14 for a digital download of the concert that they attended (the CDs are whatever), and it's definitely a unique way to continue to engage listeners who already bought Doolittle 20 years ago. If that's collector-baiting, so be it, but anyone who thinks that any band is making any money off of music alone is kidding themselves. They could try making new music, but until they do, this is a good way to get back into people's minds and sell some merch while they're at it.
I don't know the Pixies that well, so I don't know how they treat their fans, but from what you're saying, if they want people to buy into this new content, they might having to stop treating them with such disdain.
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I have to say-- I listened to some songs from one of the shows-- and it's different enough to justify getting. Granted it's like an old Frank Black sounding dude singing classic Pixies-- so I don't think it's necessarily an improvement-- but they are still really really fucking good.
The quality of the recordings are exceptional, and as a reminder for those of us lucky to be at the gigs it is invaluable. I don't see what the problem is, you don't have to buy them, and it's certainly not an extortionate price.
Huh, it's a live recording of the concert you just attended. What's the big deal? Buy or don't buy, who cares? Just don't bitch about it.
I bought the recording of the show I saw and I don't feel ripped off. I feel like I got a recording of one of the best gigs I ever went to.
Wow, you are a ridiculous asshole. They're not forcing anyone to buy anything. And, you know, for decades people have been making their own bootleg recordings of concerts, sneaking in mics and suffering poor quality. I'm sure the majority would much rather enjoy the show and then just buy a recording. Also there are the people who couldn't make it to the show, but would like to hear it. Again: you are a ridiculous asshole!
Yeah fuck you Pixies for providing a pretty fucking unique product reflecting my very own personal experience on the night. What moron thought of that idea?
Just to clarify: that was sarcasm - this is one of the biggest unwarranted whinge-posts i've read on the internet for a very fucking long time (and that's saying something).
PS Hey I also see you have ads on your site...keep up the hypocrisy!!
This is quite possibly the most pathetic attempt at courting controversy from a Z grade Internet "journalist" that I've ever read.
I think you're the only one embarrassing yourself in this situation.
What on earth are you whining about? The Pixies haven't (publicly) embarrassed themselves once in their entire career. I don't know what kind of personal beef you have with the band, but it's clearly retarding your judgment. They're selling recordings of their live shows AT their live shows. It's an optional souvenir that no one NEEDS to buy. And if someone happens to be a Pixies completionist who wants to buy these, then that's their decision.
The Pixies were quality in the '90s, and they haven't lost any of that quality since. Pull your head out of your ass, and stop bitching about products that don't affect a damned person except those who would actually be interested in buying them.
The Pixies have done this before; I saw them on their first reunion tour (or, years ago on the first leg of the current, endless reunion tour) and they were selling CD copies of the show you just saw...you paid in advance and it came in the mail later. (I know because I bought one--sorry, Mike!)
Also, I saw them on "Conan" last week, and I thought they sounded really flat and lifeless. It seems obvious that at this point they're just playing for the money (and thus the live recordings thing); that's fine, I guess, if the fans still want to see them, but the cynicism of it all is grating.
I, too, am confused about what is so "embarrassing" about this. I have mixed feelings about the reunite-to-tour-a-lot-but-not-record thing in artistic terms (see also Pavement), but hell, I, like Henry, saw one of those 2004 shows. I was really fucking excited! It was awesome! I bought a t-shirt! I have personally no interest in seeing a Doolittle show (if they didn't play all of Doolittle at the show I saw, they must've played 80% of it, so really a different set order is a lot more interesting to me in this case), but hey, some people do, and why shouldn't the band make some money off of that? I don't really find it that cynical, even. If any of the band members were giving up their own endeavors in favor of nonstop nostalgia touring, that might count, but we got a new Breeders record last year and doesn't Frank Black put out records like every eight months? So basically, they're doing what they did before, except they get some extra money. There's no reason the Pixies shouldn't be financially rewarded for making music that's endured well after they broke up.
In any case, this particular move is no kind of fuck-you to anyone. They Might Be Giants often do this (albeit at less expense -- ten bucks a show!), and as a fan, it's fun. If these bands can figure out ways to actually make money off of doing something they love (or even used to love), good for them! I've never made much of any money doing things I love or used to love, so I can't begrudge anyone that out of some ridiculous indie-purist stance.
This isn't new and it isn't controversial. Certain acts for which fans expect a high caliber of live performance—lots of jam bands for example, and classic rock acts—have been doing this for years. Hell, the Pixies did this on their reunion tour in 2005. (Were you not yet allowed to go to concerts back then, Mike?)
The debate over "taping" is something that's been top-of-mind among touring artists for decades now. (I'm guessing, Mike, that you don't remember when the Grateful Dead's estate made it difficult to download, as opposed to stream, bootlegs of live shows. And this is the Grateful Dead we're fucking talking about here, where the live show means everything.) Fact is, artists have always struggled with balancing tapers' rights with the desire to sell high-quality live recordings, and it's become a more important issue now that income from live performance is occupying a bigger piece of the music revenue pie.
So I ask you directly, Mike: What is so controversial about a not-novel, not-mandatory charge that gets money straight to artists (no record labels skimming off the top) and keeps high-quality soundboard recordings in circulation? A coherent answer, please?
The Grateful Dead literally wrote the model for sharing live music for free and they continue to run an Empire of record sales and merchandise.
This is one hell of a slick marketing campaign. Was the copy and the direction pre-written and decided by the Pixies and their management for you/ Or were you given a tiny bit of leeway in order to allow for some sense of individuality?
I might have believed this as a rant if you hadn't so carefully listed all the options and their prices, benefits and drawbacks.
Speaking as someone who simply wasn't born when many of the bands I love were touring to support their original albums, I appreciate reunion tours if not for anything else, then at least so that I can see them play live in my lifetime. It's undoubtedly hard for artists now to get any revenue from their records when so many people pirate them. They aren't forcing you to buy anything, they're just offering it, and they're really not asking that much for it anyway. If you don't like it, simply don't buy it. Some people may want to, and it's good that they can.
In any case, I certainly hope you're saying similar things about Lady Gaga, or Pirates of The Caribbean, both franchises that could stand to quit long before Pixies.
