IRS Records!

[coop41]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Barmy[/i]
<br>I'm sure the musicians will enjoy losing the ability to collect any royalties from this stuff.
[/quote]


They would get zero? I realize that is the equivalent of what they are making now with no cd release or downloads but they wouldn't get anything for the download? 100% to the label? Just curious.

[Barmy]

Who knows--how do they even find some of these artists. But once something becomes downloadable, it spreads like a virus and can be obtained for free.

[rotator]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Snack[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by MetaMatrix[/i]

are u seriously saying that everything that is stored only in digital format on harddisks etc. "doesn't really exist" [?]

fyi : EVERYTHING - incl. downloads or other digital only stuff - has the value that U - the person that owns it - actually assign or attribute to it ! [;)]
[/quote]

What? Look, downloads have ruined the music experience for generations to come. There are people who have NO idea what liner notes are, cover art, lyric sheets - the joy of holding a record cover in your hand while watching it spin on the turntable. More disturbing is the fact that most young consumers think that music should be free! Vinyl sales are up, cds have stabilized and downloads won't kill either format. As for "actual value", if you think your download is worth as much as my album or cd, continue to delude yourself. If what you say is true, why are people on ebay paying insane amounts of money to buy hard copies of out-of-print music, when they can buy the download for $9.99? You're argument is as thin as an MP3....

[/quote]


I have to agree with SNACK.

there is no WAY I could value the listening expierience of say New Order's Low Life. UK Factory issue on vinyl...looking at the amaizing rice paper printed sleeve, etc...to say one of the tracks randomly popping up on an iPod®....it's just a different experience, and I don't expect people who have never owned vinyl to get it..

that being said--- it is nice to have almost my entire collection to play at will, from my ipod[:D]

[Snack]

[quote][i]Originally posted by MetaMatrix[/i]
<br>@ snack : if u would've read jus' a few of my previous comments here , u would've realized that i LOVE the good ol' vinyl stuff too & that cover art , liner notes , lyrics etc. ONLY makes sense to me , if i could actually enjoy them in a format that is @ least 7" big or better 10" or 12" ! [;)]
in a 5" cd booklet cover art etc. usually ALWAYS looks way too "squeezed" for my taste & if i want to read the lyrics in such booklets i mostly need some ( magnifying ) glasses , because they are printed in such a small font sometimes that it really hurts my eyes ! *sigh*
so for me it's either vinyl - for the better sound quality & cover art presentation - or a digital format like a 320 kbps mp3 file , if i only want to listen to the music wherever i go , as i also don't like to carry bags of cds with me in such cases ! [;)]

of course NO digital format ( incl. cds ! ) is as much worth as a vinyl rec. - no matter , what some people may claim !

but - to come back to the original topic of this thread - i very much welcome the fact that irs rec. will release quite a lot of their ol' catalogue as downloads now , as i rather get some of that stuff as a simple download than not @ all ! [:)]
if u can't or jus' won't appreciate that , then it's your loss & not mine ! [:p]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Snack[/i]
why are people on ebay paying insane amounts of money to buy hard copies of out-of-print music, when they can buy the download for $9.99?[/quote]

well ... people who pay an "insane amount of money" @ ebay or wherever else , jus' to get , what they could also get for much less as a download are indeed insane in my honest opinion & i would NEVER EVER pay such ridiculously steep prices to make those greedy assholes of sellers happy only to get a maybe even scratched copy of a favorite release on vinyl or cd !

i'm sorry , but i'm NOT that stupid ! [}:)]

btw : i totally agree with what swampthing has posted here before me ! [8D]
[/quote]

I like you - yer funny! I post a TON of out-of-print cds on ebay every week. I never start them above $9.99 (no matter how rare) and I never have a reserve. So, if a series of bidders want to run the price up - that's because they want it, not because i'm greedy. That's the REAL marketplace. My example was to show that people want the original article because it has actual value - now and later. I just think it's sad if IRS doesn't at least do what Rhino has done with their Handmade label - limited editions for the REAL collectors - the people that keep a dying industry alive...

[MetaMatrix]

[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
Metamatrix - are you really from Germany? I am getting a very strong Filipino vibe from your posts.
[/quote]

*lol*

yep ... i'm indeed from germany , albeit i may not (re)act like "a typical german" @ all & may also have "a very strong filipino vibe" too ! [:D]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Barmy[/i]
once something becomes downloadable, it spreads like a virus and can be obtained for free.
[/quote]

fyi : everything that is available on cd - i. e. in digital format - can also be made available via the internet as a download very easily , so WHAT exactly is your point in this case , eh [?]

[quote][i]Originally posted by rotator[/i]
there is no WAY I could value the listening expierience of say New Order's Low Life. UK Factory issue on vinyl...looking at the amaizing rice paper printed sleeve, etc...to say one of the tracks randomly popping up on an iPod®....it's just a different experience, and I don't expect people who have never owned vinyl to get it..
[/quote]

have u read my reply here before this one ?
obviously not ! *sigh*
fyi : i own a vinyl collection of more than 10.000 albums , eps & singles in all shapes & sizes ... but i never really cared much for cds , as it's still an inferior format & therefore will NEVER have a value like an original release on vinyl for me personally !

[quote][i]Originally posted by Snack[/i]
I post a TON of out-of-print cds on ebay every week. I never start them above $9.99 (no matter how rare) and I never have a reserve. So, if a series of bidders want to run the price up - that's because they want it, not because i'm greedy.[/quote]

well ... i jus' loathe ebay & its ilk of sites , where prices are pushed up into sometimes astronomical heights , as it's jus' INSANE & people , who take part is such a system of "push & shove" are actually the real reason for the current financial crisis , because it's their faqin' greed that totally ruins a fair price system of REAL values that also have a REAL basis !

concerning irs rec. i suppose that they are jus' clever enough & don't want to ruin themselves financially with reproducing hundreds of long out-of-print rec. on cd , as it's obviously far too costly to do this for them !

[quote][i]Originally posted by Snack[/i]
the people that keep a dying industry alive...
[/quote]

oh dear ... those people , who are desperate enough to keep this dying industry alive especially these days are THE REAL PROBLEM after all , because they are obviously way too stupid to realize that it was this fucked up industry that has ALWAYS exploited them over the years & decades & created its own downfall already with the invention of cd-rs & digital formats that can be copied almost lossless then !

who do u think invented all those things like cds , dvds , mp3s etc. ?
some greedy music fans , who wanted everything for free ? [:0]
HELL NO ! it was the totally fucked up music industry itself , who ALWAYS wanted to sell one & the same product in as much different formats & re-issues as possible to maximize their profits shamelessly ! [V]

that's why i welcome all artists these days , who say quite openly "FUCK THE REC. CO. !" & distribute their music themselves via the internet ! [8D]

the sooner this dying industry of totally overblown big rec. co. will finally go down the drain the better it is in my honest opinion !

more power to the artists & much less power - or better to say : NO power @ all anymore ! - to all those fucked up greedy assholes in the music industry , like those big heads of the "big 4" rec. co. ! [}:)]

[Riverman]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Riverman[/i]
<br>] No, I usually pay about 20 cents for a song.

where(apart from the Russian mafia)?

[jaybag]

If you're paying $.20 per song, it's gotta be from one of those Russian sites. I use them but ONLY for stuff that's unobtainable on CD or iTunes.

I'm completely with Rubellan - I love having the CD's but generally listen to things on my iPod (using the standard 128kbps compression - I don't really notice the difference but then I don't have kick-ass audio equipment). I resisted downloading from iTunes for years but, as I've posted elsewhere on this forum, they're making it hard to resist thanks to so many artists putting out extra songs on the iTunes versions of their albums and making those tracks "Album Only" (i.e. you can't purchase them individually). Plus, Amazon often has a decent list of $5 albums (I recently got the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack and the latest Byrne/Eno CD for $5 each). The bit rates are generally 256kbps, pretty good.

Where it gets ridiculous is when there are so many different versions of albums. I posted elsewhere about my experience with the new Department of Eagles CD. I bought it, then came home to find there was an "album only" track on iTunes. But, the CD came with a free download of a different song. AND, I bought the disc at Borders and because I did I was able to download another different song. So, the CD has 11 songs but the "album" really has 14.

With Circuit City going under and Virgin virtually non-existent, I'm trying to get used to the sad fact that the CD will probably be obsolete within five years, if that long.

My choices for downloading:
download vs. CD, same songs on both, same price: CD
download vs. CD, download significantly cheaper: download
download vs. CD, extra song(s) on download: usually download

As for the comment that once a song it put in digital format it can be distributed far and wide - true. People shouldn't do it, but they do. I think if downloads are kept relatively cheap, most people will follow their conscience and support the artist. I'd like to think so anyway.

[budaniel]

For a while, the 'exclusive' tracks were getting out of hand. I'd buy something at Best Buy, then find out a bonus track was available at Circuit City...or Walmart...or Target. A lot of times, these exclusive tracks ended up being on the IMPORT versions of these CDs, usually with even MORE bonus tracks not on the US editions--and that includes releases by US artists! I mean, is the download craze NOT hitting countries overseas, because even CD singles with remixes are still being released overseas and rarely domestically.

I was actually looking forward to the CD Ringles, or whatever the heck they were called, because I thought it would finally mean some singles would start getting released domestically with at least a remix or two on them. That ringle plan fell flat fast.

A solid format would always be the number one choice for me--even when I grab a shared song off this site, if I like it, I try my best to find a used copy online of the CD or vinyl. I'd rather burn my own copy of vinyl than have an MP3 of a song.

Personally, I think every move the record industry has made in terms of marketing CDs has helped lead to their downfall. The copy protection turned people off who wanted to put songs on their pods--you mean to tell me it's not easier to share an MP3 than it is a CD? The phasing out of CD singles was a tragedy, especially for dance collectors who want all the remixes that are released and are pretty much never seeing the light of day anymore. Then there's the money making 'exclusive only to this store' deals, which made running out to buy your favorite new disc a risk if you weren't aware of any one particular store having a special edition. And let's not forget the "deluxe editions" that are being released ad nauseum by HUGE artists, often not even six months after the 'standard' edition is released, forcing dedicated fans to buy the same thing twice. And finally, there's the 'out of print' plague. If the record industry had bothered to keep in print half of what people are looking for, individuals wouldn't be making hundreds of dollars off out of print discs on ebay. The music industry can say downloading on napster was stealing music and hurting the industry, but leaving, for example, the Martha Davis solo CD out of print so sellers could post it for 70-80 dollars on ebay wasn't helping...artists and record labels don't see THAT money either.

[jaybag]

Yes Budaniel! You pretty much summed up all my gripes about the music industry right there. It's a shame the music industry so quickly adopted the double-dipping policy that has worked so well with DVD's (put out the vanilla version, then release the 2-disc uber-deluxe version three months later - which is why I almost never buy DVD's when they first come out anymore). I firmly expect that we'll soon start seeing books reguarly re-released with extra chapters / alternate endings / illustrations / etc. (which we actually already did with The Da Vinci Code).

Many people lament that the "album" is dying out thanks to our iPod culture, but I think it's more that it's hard to define what an album really is anymore. When I see a CD in stores, I now have to go home and check iTunes/Amazon first to make sure I'm getting the "whole album". I actually laud Coldplay for making Prospekt's March available as a separate purchase in addition to repackaging it with Viva La Vida as a deluxe edition (of course the iTunes version of VLV had bonus tracks on it, which of course sucks).

Wow - we've gotten wayyy off topic. I for one am looking forward to what IRS has to offer, and I hope more classic albums get digital releases. Getting CD's of these old albums seems unlikely, and mp3's are better than nothing ...

[Spudboy]

Will we get a clean, popless Suburban Lawns?????

Still looking for my girl with auburn hair and tawny eyes...

[SwampThing]

[quote]If you're paying $.20 per song, it's gotta be from one of those Russian sites.[/quote] I actually pay 11.99 for 50 downloads at eMusic.com. So I guess that works out to about $.25 per song. The selection is not that of an iTunes or Amazon but I've never had any problem using up my 50 downloads every month.

eMusic has some great labels such as 4AD, Beggars Banquet and Cherry Red. I recently downloaded some Sparks and Fra Lippo Lippi, so they do have any interesting selection of music.

For discovering new artists it's second to none. It's primarily indie music labels so it's a great supplement to Amazon and iTunes.

<font size="1></font>

[oldnewwaver]

just checked out I Tunes today and they have Wall of Voodoo and the Fleshtones back catalog available

[Surly]

Just found this:

http://www.blurt-online.com/news/view/1757

Legendary label comes up a unique blend of full-album downloads and single-track cherrypicking.

By Blurt Staff

It's an impressive back catalog by any measure - that of I.R.S. Records, which helped bring such artists as R.E.M., the Go-Gos, Let's Active and Wall of Voodoo to national prominence. But the label has been noticeably absent from the digital realm, leaving iPod-rocking fans clutching their battered vinyl and scratched up CDs, wondering when, if ever, they'd get to experience the I.R.S. era in a highly compressed audio format. Until now... read on.





***





Beginning February 10 and continuing until March 17, more than 100 albums and tracks from the celebrated vault of I.R.S. Records will make their digital release debuts. In an extensive, six-week online catalog campaign by Capitol/EMI, I.R.S. classics by The Fleshtones, Wall of Voodoo, Concrete Blonde, Oingo Boingo, The dB's, General Public, Stewart Copeland, Robbie Krieger, Tom Verlaine, and many others will be available for the first time for DRM-free download from all major digital service providers. Four new Best Of The I.R.S. Years digital collections will also be released, for The dB's, Over The Rhine, dada, and Dread Zeppelin.





Founded in 1979 by Miles Copeland and Jay Boberg, I.R.S. (International Record Syndicate) Records established itself as home base for an eclectic and cutting-edge roster of artists. While launching R.E.M., Concrete Blonde and The Go-Gos to international stardom, I.R.S. also championed many less-known but critically-acclaimed acts whose I.R.S. recordings continue to resonate today.





Capitol/EMI's digital campaign shines a light on many I.R.S. Records mainstays and future stars by making more than 100 albums and tracks digitally available for the first time. These new digital essentials join already available digital titles from the pioneering label's archive by R.E.M., The Go-Gos and others.





Included in the staggered, six-week launch are 14 tracks by New York garage band The Fleshtones, three albums and 10 tracks by Los Angeles "Mexican Radio" rockers Wall of Voodoo, three albums and a new Best Of the I.R.S. Years collection from acclaimed power-pop group The dB's, eight tracks by Let's Active, and two albums by alternative rock pioneers Concrete Blonde.





Also included are seven tracks by Lords of the New Church, the post-punk supergroup featuring Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys, Brian James of The Damned, Dave Tregunna of Sham 69 and Nicky Turner of The Barracudas, six tracks by new wave faves Oingo Boingo, three albums by Australian rock / art funk band Hunters & Collectors, four albums by British reggae singer Pato Banton, three albums by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, two albums by the triple Grammy-winning musician, composer and producer William Orbit, and one album by Nuclear Assault, the metal band founded by former Anthrax bassist, Dan Lilker.





I.R.S. tracks and albums by Stewart Copeland, Robbie Krieger, Jools Holland, General Public, Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Tom Verlaine, Dread Zeppelin, Havana 3 A.M., Beat Rodeo, Drywall, The Bears, Monks of Doom, Timbuk 3, Over the Rhine, Lillian Axe, The Truth, Three O'Clock, Balancing Act, Dave Sharp, Animal Logic, Caterwaul, dada, Wazmo Nariz, Reckless Sleepers, and Shok Paris are also included in the digital campaign.







I.R.S. RECORDS DIGITAL CATALOG CAMPAIGN (Capitol/EMI)

** in title lists below, ALL CAPS = ALBUM; lowercase = track





WEEK ONE: February 10

DRYWALL - WORK THE DUMB ORACLE

Fleshtones - American Beat '84

Fleshtones - Cold, Cold, Shoes

Fleshtones - Deep In My Heart

Fleshtones - Girl From Baltimore

Fleshtones - I've Gotta Change My Life

Fleshtones - Let's See The Sun

Fleshtones - Ride Your Pony

Fleshtones - Right Side Of A Good Thing

Fleshtones - Roman Gods

Fleshtones - Screaming Skull

Fleshtones - Shadow Line

Fleshtones - Stop Fooling Around

Fleshtones - Theme From "The Vindicators"

Fleshtones - World Has Changes

DAVE SHARP - HARD TRAVELLIN'

Wall of Voodoo - Back In Flesh

Wall of Voodoo - Call Box (1-2-3)

Wall of Voodoo - Call Of The West

Wall of Voodoo - Crack The Bell

Wall of Voodoo - Factory

Wall of Voodoo - Lost Weekend

Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio

Wall of Voodoo - On Interstate 15

Wall of Voodoo - Red Light

Wall of Voodoo - Tomorrow

WALL OF VOODOO - HAPPY PLANET

WALL OF VOODOO - SEVEN DAYS IN SAMMYSTOWN

WALL OF VOODOO - UGLY AMERICANS IN AUSTRALIA





WEEK TWO: February 17

ANIMAL LOGIC - ANIMAL LOGIC II

CATERWAUL - PIN AND WEB

CATERWAUL - PORTENT HUE

CONCRETE BLONDE - CONCRETE BLONDE

CONCRETE BLONDE - FREE

STEWART COPELAND - THE EQUALIZER

DADA - AMERICAN HIGHWAY FLOWER

DADA - PUZZLE

GENERAL PUBLIC - HAND TO MOUTH

General Public - General Public

General Public - General Public (12" Version)

General Public - Hot You're Cool

General Public - Never You Done That

General Public - Tenderness

Lords Of The New Church - Apocalypso

Lords Of The New Church - Eat Your Heart Out

Lords Of The New Church - Holy War

Lords Of The New Church - Li'l Boys Play With Dolls

Lords Of The New Church - Livin On Livin

Lords Of The New Church - Portobello

Lords Of The New Church - Question Of Temperature

Wazmo Nariz - Checking Out The Check Out Girl

Oingo Boingo - Ain't This The Life

Oingo Boingo - Bachelor Party

Oingo Boingo - I'm So Bad

Oingo Boingo - Only A Lad

Oingo Boingo - Something Isn't Right

Oingo Boingo - Violent Love





WEEK THREE: February 24

THE BEARS - RISE AND SHINE

THE BEARS - THE BEARS

BELINDA CARLISLE - BELINDA

DADA - BEST OF THE I.R.S. YEARS

LILLIAN AXE - POETIC JUSTICE

LILLIAN AXE - PSYCOSCHIZOPHRENIA

NUCLEAR ASSAULT - SOMETHING WICKED

WILLIAM ORBIT - ORBIT

WILLIAM ORBIT - STRANGE CARGO 3

OVER THE RHINE - BEST OF THE THE I.R.S. YEARS

OVER THE RHINE - EVE

OVER THE RHINE - PATIENCE

OVER THE RHINE - TILL WE HAVE FACES

TIMBUK 3 - BIG SHOT IN THE DARK

TIMBUK 3 - EDEN ALLEY

TIMBUK 3 - EDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

TIMBUK 3 - GREETINGS FROM TIMBUK 3

JANE WIEDLIN - JANE WIEDLIN





WEEK FOUR: March 3

PATO BANTON - STAY POSITITVE

PATO BANTON - UNIVERSAL LOVE

PATO BANTON - VISIONS OF THE WORLD

PATO BANTON - WIZE UP

HAVANA 3 A.M. - HAVANA 3 A.M.

JOOLS HOLLAND - WORLD OF HIS OWN

HUNTERS & COLLECTORS - FATE

HUNTERS & COLLECTORS - HUMAN FRAILTY

HUNTERS & COLLECTORS - LIVING DAYLIGHT

THREE O'CLOCK - ARRIVE WITHOUT TRAVELING

THREE O'CLOCK - EVER AFTER

THE TRUTH - JUMP

THE TRUTH - PLAYGROUND

THE TRUTH - WEAPONS OF LOVE





WEEK FIVE: March 10

THE DB'S - BEST OF THE I.R.S. YEARS

THE DB'S - REPERCUSSION

THE DB'S - SOUND OF MUSIC

THE DB'S - STANDS FOR DECIBELS

DREAD ZEPPELIN - BEST OF THE I.R.S. YEARS

MONKS OF DOOM - COSMODEMONIC TELEGRAPH

MONKS OF DOOM - FORGERY

GARY NUMAN - NEW ANGER

GARY NUMAN - OUTLAND

GARY NUMAN - SKIN MECHANIC





WEEK SIX: March 17

BALANCING ACT - CURTAINS

BALANCING ACT - THREE SQUARES

BEAT RODEO - HOME IN THE HEART

BEAT RODEO - STAYING OUT LATE WITH BEAT RODEO

ROBBIE KRIEGER - NO HABLA

Let's Active - Blue Line

Let's Active - Crows on a Phone Line

Let's Active - Easy Does It

Let's Active - Everyword Means No

Let's Active - Make Up With Me

Let's Active - Ring True

Let's Active - Room With A View

Let's Active - Waters Part

RECKLESS SLEEPERS - BIG BOSS SOUNDS

SHOK PARIS - CONCRETE KILLERS

SHOK PARIS - STEEL AND STARLIGHT

TOM VERLAINE - FLASH LIGHT

"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

[budaniel]

Two points in one sentence crack me up--first of all, anyone who has "battered vinyl and scratched up CDs" shouldn't have been allowed to have them in the first place because clearly they didn't treasure and appreciate them. i have 12" singles I got in like 1983 that still look and play like brand new--and I was only a kid when i was handling them.

And secondly, is the part "get to experience the I.R.S. era in a highly compressed audio format. Until now..." supposed to be sarcastic? It sounds sort of anti-MP3 to me...

[MetaMatrix]

[:D]

good ol' irs rec. - as tongue-in-cheek as ever ! [:p][}:)][8D]

"music is organized noise !"