iTunes and Amazon probably being the biggest 3rd party download music sellers.
If you're looking for MP3s and ALAC files.
iTunes and Amazon probably being the biggest 3rd party download music sellers.
If you're looking for MP3s and ALAC files.
I'm looking for MC. At this point, I'll take just about whatever format I can get
I think Multichannel files from Apple and Amazon is pretty unlikely at this point.
They have yet to get to standard and high resolution Stereo music downloads, much less Multichannel downloads.
To be fair, there are many people, include some on this forum, who would accuse them of peddling snake oil if they sold high resolution stereo downloads.
There are quite a few people who have asked Amazon and Apple to carry standard definition and high definition Stereo music downloads.
I think we will see their requests granted before the day that Amazon and Apple look at carrying Multichannel music downloads.
"But, unfortunately, it doesn't work that way as some artists are even opposed to releasing these multis [the Doobies, for instance"
Where did you get this info? I have never seen this anywhere in print.
If Rhino could do the Quadio Chicago box, and charge a very reasonable price for it, it would seem to reflect that they do understand that there is a market out there for multichannel releases. The Perception Box was manufactured twice, once in the big box, then in the smaller non-peep hole box. These two boxes are two of the most important surround releases of the 5.1 era.
So if ForagingRhino or someone else at Rhino could expand their download sales portal to include WEA quad and DVD-A titles, that would be a sure fire way to get some money flowing without having to spend money on licensing or physical media production. And, if there's an error, it can be easily corrected without having to resend corrected copies of discs to anyone.
Rhino has sold stereo audio downloads from their website in the past (I know, I've bought one or two), so the infrastructure is there.
To me, this makes the most sense. One of the labels with a lot of surround material, selling directly to the consumer without media, it's a slam-dunk in my book. They will have to absorb the piracy aspect of the thing. It's there. It will happen. But somehow HDTracks and others survive this so Rhino should be able to as well.
How about it? ForagingRhino, are you lurking? Start with a few high-demand titles. Eagles, Doobies, Black Sabaath, you know the ones. Make it so!!!
Jon, I also think it's prudent to add Talking Heads fantastic BRICK and perhaps to a lesser extent Björk's SURROUNDED box sets.
Brian Moura's sobering post on this thread [#376] that 85-90% of listeners are STEREO oriented might be the major reason to impede multichannel downloads at this juncture. One would think that with ALL the available Universal players sold this century, multichannel music would be a slam dunk but as I always implied in the beginning of the DVD~A/mch SACD era, unlike Surround motion pictures which require one to sit raptly watching a screen, multichannel music does not share that 'commitment' with listeners who have no visuals to stare at....and might I add short attention spans.
Whether the Chicago Quadio boxset WAS indeed a one off celebrating the Band's induction into the R&R Hall of Fame is anyone's guess, but I'm sure ALL the majors are studying the ever changing market [including downloads] to best assess what will sell and what will not. As we all know, the bottom line IS profit which doesn't bode well for a niche market which comprises only a minuscule percentage of actual consumers.
I suppose we could also add the Genesis boxes too? Although I do think the Chicago box stands out for having such a unique emphasis on not only the MC mixes, but decades old quad mixes.
Or 85-90% of AF buyers anyway. is it possible there's a whole market of MC fans AF wasn't able to tap into because their marketing and reach is already defined by their SACD products? People who bought the Talking Heads "Brick" but have never bought an AF SACD?
The Chicago was perhaps a perfect storm of a big catalog, timing for interest in the band, and an interest in the product by a band who not only controls their own masters, but seems to have a distribution deal not only with WEA, but directly with Rhino.
But hopefully it had good enough success that it will cause other labels and/or artists to reconsider their old MC masters.
If Rhino could do the Quadio Chicago box, and charge a very reasonable price for it, it would seem to reflect that they do understand that there is a market out there for multichannel releases. The Perception Box was manufactured twice, once in the big box, then in the smaller non-peep hole box. These two boxes are two of the most important surround releases of the 5.1 era.
So if ForagingRhino or someone else at Rhino could expand their download sales portal to include WEA quad and DVD-A titles, that would be a sure fire way to get some money flowing without having to spend money on licensing or physical media production. And, if there's an error, it can be easily corrected without having to resend corrected copies of discs to anyone.
Rhino has sold stereo audio downloads from their website in the past (I know, I've bought one or two), so the infrastructure is there.
To me, this makes the most sense. One of the labels with a lot of surround material, selling directly to the consumer without media, it's a slam-dunk in my book. They will have to absorb the piracy aspect of the thing. It's there. It will happen. But somehow HDTracks and others survive this so Rhino should be able to as well.
How about it? ForagingRhino, are you lurking? Start with a few high-demand titles. Eagles, Doobies, Black Sabaath, you know the ones. Make it so!!!
This is exactly why I've said, time and time again, that a small commercial advertisement is necessary. If you mention Surround or 5.1 to the average person, they either have a) no idea what you're talking about or b) have vague, inarticulate recollections of Quad and how it was such a commercial disaster. I recently had a person tell me that 40 years ago, they heard Mercedes Benz off Janis Joplin's Q8, and that one itty-bitty snippet was enough to turn them off Quad completely. They've never forgotten how that one little bit reminded them of the Duophonic 60's and that they'll never get into Quad if it's that bad.
Seriously.
You want something to sell in record numbers? Promote it.
None of these companies advertising campaigns (if they even exist) are worth anything.
Advertise in Audio Magazines.
The internet is LITTERED with ads and yet not one I've seen has anything to do with Surround sound.
Make a TV ad. Yes, it's expensive. What isn't these days?
I've always gotten people into Quad with a simple phrase: "It's like visiting an old friend you haven't seen in a while but have new stories to tell."
Because a lot of people will ask : Why do I need to buy that album AGAIN? If you offer something different, they might buy into it.
If you can sell someone a 6-disc Little Richard box set, you can sell somebody a single disc that plays anywhere in stereo & multichannel.
But it is funny how things go full circle. For a long time there was a little bit of software, but virtually no hardware to play it on. As the hardware segment grew, the record companies gave up on the software. Now we're back to very little hardware and companies trying to push software again. Chicken or the egg? It doesn't matter, because we the consumer get royally clucked either way.
And doing boxed sets of albums by different artists? That just sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. "I had to pay $60 for the one album I like just so I could be saddled with 3 albums I hate???"
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And doing boxed sets of albums by different artists? That just sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. " [IF] I had to pay $60 for the one album I like just so I could be saddled with 3 albums I hate???"
Keywhiz, I was thinking along the lines of 10 Warner 5.1 albums for $125~150 list (with further discounting available) and let's be real....I'm sure you'd like more than 1 title and you wouldn't be paying anywhere near $60 for that title. Warners had some GREAT 5.1 titles and a LOT of unreleased 5.1 remixes in the vaults so there'd be a lot of choice selections to choose from.
It was just a suggestion and a way to rid the vaults of their unreleased treasures en masse. There could be a ROCK box, a JAZZ box and a POP box.
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