Heartland

eastmidswhizzkid wrote:so...pretty much something any one of us could have cobbled together without ever having been near the band? * do they (the magazine) really deserve our £££'s ? (eldritch obviously doesn't want them, except for t-shirts and bums on seats). shouldn't they have pinned them down to something a bit more?

* the exception being "It won't be label-orientated work, we'll just give it away for free because we sell tickets, you know?"
if that's the case, i mean if that's REALLY the case A)where is it? and B) can we not have ALL the new stuff and we'll pledge for it to cover the costs? please? no? oh, ok.....

is the law.

but to be fair it's his band, his work (music lyrics) so he can do whatever he pleased with it. we just have buy the damn tickets, tee, clothes and ceramic crap.

Bartek wrote: we just have buy the damn tickets, tee, clothes and ceramic crap.

Why? That mug is great, I love it.
By the way: every band sells merch… I don’t see what the problem is with that. I bet everyone here has a lot of merch…

I'm perfectly fine with TSOM selling merch, it's just another source of making money on playing music. Problem is that other bands write new music, present it live, mostly even recording, while TSOM are just doing everything else apart new music. And I don't care what they're saying. But, as I wrote above, it's his/their music, so they can do whatever they want.

Bartek wrote:I'm perfectly fine with TSOM selling merch, it's just another source of making money on playing music. Problem is that other bands write new music, present it live, mostly even recording, while TSOM are just doing everything else apart new music. And I don't care what they're saying. But, as I wrote above, it's his/their music, so they can do whatever they want.

Yes, I understand that. Actually the Sisters also compose some new music (though not very often) and they play it live… exclusively live. I’ve been thinking about it recently… e.g. DM releases a new album every 4th year with, let's be honest, 2 good songs, otherwise they live from the songs of the 80s and 90s. Their setlists usually comprise the old big hits… and that is just one example. Of course, TSOM has the right to do whatever they want, that’s clear.

1993 - last released song, 17 years since TSOM (AE) are free, I think it's enough time to compromise quality and quantity. But even that wasn't long enough, because from this dozen of "new" songs few aren't good enough, obviously IMHO.

Obviously we can say what if?, trying to look for excuses for AE, comparing to any bands releasing new album, but fact it that he's (they're) doing pretty nothing. While other bands trying to do something (with better of worst results, but at least they're trying), to me, Mr. Taylor seems to chose easy way - let's not release new albums so no one can't say a bad words about our music, if he/she gonna listen only live version excuse is easy (album version would sound much better), instead of that flog that horse 'till it's not completely decomposed. But that's just my opinion.

Bartek wrote:...
Mr. Taylor seems to chose easy way - let's not release new albums so no one can't say a bad words about our music, ...

Great joking, Bartek, considering that at least 65% of this forum's content consists of "bad sound, no album, lazy bastard" and stuff ...

I meant journalists, even that some despise them.

ok , a few thoughts:
without (many) exceptions we ALL adore the sisters unconditionallly. and eldritch can do/not do whatever-da-fuck he wants . and we'll be grateful -maybe even pathetically so, and certainly none more pathetically so than i- for the few crumbs we are thrown.
however....would it hurt too much to cobble together an album of "new" stuff to shut us all the fuck up? so WHAT if it is "sub-standard" (in-as-much as the glorious independent material is "baby photos" and FALAA is a production compromise) who would care but us? (and i don't believe it could be that bad with robo-breezers involved -you never know eldritch may even forget himself and enjoy the processs)
it wouldn't even need to be the focal point of a release- aren't we long overdue the promised official live dvd compilation? the new stuff could be bundled with that as a cd extra if it meant he wasn't too self-conscious about it all. you know, like a thank-you to us? and we'll pay for it. just a thought.

Out of interest, what are E's alternative income streams mentioned earlier? Production work? I recall he once referred to a 'successful absence'... by those parameters the last two decades have been very successful indeed.

Joy wrote:From FB (best bits)
On new material: "Some of it would have to be released in the traditional album format because some of the stuff hangs together conceptually that way but some of the material would be more suited to one-offs."

"It won't be label-orientated work, we'll just give it away for free because we sell tickets, you know?"

I don't see why they would have to give it away for free. Just package it nicely and people will buy it, not least at concerts (special editions!).

If just everyone from the FB group buys the new SoM album for $25 on preorder, that would leave Von with a handy sum of $225,000 to record, produce and press the thing.

And that's just the FB group, I'm sure many more people would buy it. Most of us would probably be buying the singles, T-shirts, tour editions, etc etc as well... Hell, I would even buy a remix of YCBTO, and I'm sure I'm not the only desperate, under stimulated saddo out there...

Also, there's nothing stopping them from releasing some of the new (-ish?) songs for free as well. I for one would love to have proper studio versions of Summer, Crash And Burn, Romeo Down and others, they are all really great Sisters songs, up there with the best of them.

Let's forcibly crowdfund Von's lazy butt into the studio ASAP!

For the potential revenue, we could afford to hire some muscle to make sure he stays put while we haff our vay with him

Like Von said. They sell tickets.

If I were him, I would be thinking about selling pen drives after shows with the show on it from the soundboard.

I'd love to buy towels they've used in tour bus.

Bartek wrote:I'd love to buy towels they've used in tour bus.

Pista wrote:Like Von said. They sell tickets.

If I were him, I would be thinking about selling pen drives after shows with the show on it from the soundboard.

The problem with that is, of course, the huge variation of quality in the shows. Even if you accept (and we all know it's hotly debated) that some of the shows are of genuinely good enough sound quality for that sort of release, I think the majority of us would at least concede that, for whatever reason/excuse (delete according to your level of delusion) we choose, many of the shows are just a mess of drum machine and sequenced bass with the occasional howl of badly mixed guitar and some mumbling in the background. Maybe good enough for a bootleg, depending on your quality threshold, but not good enough to sell. The only way the Sisters could viably release live material is to choose the few (if any) concerts where the mix is decent and you can actually here Von singing. One well-chosen (and extremely well-mastered) would be a more sensible way to go.

Well putted; very diplomatic.

Just got my copy of VLR. Interview quite disappointing - most of the six pages are photos and an extended band history, including references to "The Damage Done". Still, good to see TSOM back on the front of a mag, and quite a lot of other interesting features (Peter Murphy interview, Expelaires track on the free CD etc) so hopefully it will sell well for them.

Yggdrasil wrote:

Joy wrote:From FB (best bits)
On new material: "Some of it would have to be released in the traditional album format because some of the stuff hangs together conceptually that way but some of the material would be more suited to one-offs."

"It won't be label-orientated work, we'll just give it away for free because we sell tickets, you know?"

I don't see why they would have to give it away for free. Just package it nicely and people will buy it, not least at concerts (special editions!).

If just everyone from the FB group buys the new SoM album for $25 on preorder, that would leave Von with a handy sum of $225,000 to record, produce and press the thing.

Generally people wouldn't buy it,because in general people don't buy music at all. Most bands exist on their touring income these days and release new records as a means to justify another tour. The Sisters don't feel the need to do that. Oh,and I wouldn't trust a Facebook group to buy anything.

I'm agree with you about lack trust in FB group(s), like does not equal that this person will buy legal copy of album.

But it's not that bad, people still buying music, but not in an amount that they used to. Now the only solution seems to be shorting list of middle-men. The best way is to release albums in small quantity and sell it directly via site; there are digital way like bandcamp, what is probably better solution that iTunes (correct me if I'm wrong on that one).

Bartek wrote:I'm agree with you about lack trust in FB group(s), like does not equal that this person will buy legal copy of album.

But it's not that bad, people still buying music, but not in an amount that they used to. Now the only solution seems to be shorting list of middle-men. The best way is to release albums in small quantity and sell it directly via site; there are digital way like bandcamp, what is probably better solution that iTunes (correct me if I'm wrong on that one).

My guess would be: more money per sale via Bandcamp, but more sales (with less money per sale) via iTunes due to market penetration.

Joy wrote: Yes, I understand that. Actually the Sisters also compose some new music (though not very often) and they play it live… exclusively live. I’ve been thinking about it recently… e.g. DM releases a new album every 4th year with, let's be honest, 2 good songs, otherwise they live from the songs of the 80s and 90s. Their setlists usually comprise the old big hits… and that is just one example. Of course, TSOM has the right to do whatever they want, that’s clear.

Thanks Joy - One of the best points on the The Sisters post recording career... ever! Of course it's a mater of opinion and I'm sure loads will disagree but as Joy said with DM, I think that with a lot of the bands that have continued/ comeback since The Sisters left the recording studio - few have made albums has good as in their prime. Most have careers that careered wildly with any around peaks routinely written off at a later date.
The Sisters have utterly avoided this recording roller coaster and as such, have been able to keep a strong degree of quality control on the new material they do perform - material which never seemed to flow out of Von with any degree of (ahem) speed...

Bartek wrote:Well putted; very diplomatic.

Believe me, it took a lot of effort.

Believe me, I understand you better than you think, I know your pain.

ribbons69 wrote:

Generally people wouldn't buy it,because in general people don't buy music at all. Most bands exist on their touring income these days and release new records as a means to justify another tour. [/quote]

Partly true, as most bands find that enough fans buy their music to justify releasing it. I fail to see why this would not apply to the Sisters.

ribbons69 wrote: The Sisters don't feel the need to do that. Oh,and I wouldn't trust a Facebook group to buy anything.

Neither would I. But the existence of substantial fans sites and forums show that the band has the required dedicated fans to sell their product to, and the channels to reach them.

It's still not about a number of clicks and registered users, but active people (still, not "like"), and i guess that here and on FB is relatively small. Yet, of course, fact that they are still touring is a positive sign, or at lest should be, for them.

Nikolas Vitus Lagartija wrote:Just got my copy of VLR. Interview quite disappointing - most of the six pages are photos and an extended band history, including references to "The Damage Done". Still, good to see TSOM back on the front of a mag, and quite a lot of other interesting features (Peter Murphy interview, Expelaires track on the free CD etc) so hopefully it will sell well for them.

So nothing new, and Von still says he doesn't want to release any kind of stuff except for the daily considerations of going nowhere ... ...