[VioletlightHeron]

I have to add one addition comment about the record company exec's comment that they can track what people want on the file sharing programs. That is nothing but bullshit and scare mongering, if they could track what is on P2P programs and who downloads it there would be a hell of alot more lawsuits being filed against the downloaders even if the courts give the RIAA a hard time trying to find out the people behind the screen names. Two, if there was no P2P programs bands like the Hip and Sarah Harmer would have very little chance of attracting listeners because their music is not always what execs love to call "radio friendly", which is a crap label anyway. Like everyone else has been saying, they should focus on the people who pirate whole albums and movies without paying for them; you can buy just released movies, DVDs and albums in the philippines for a dollar apiece. that is what is killing them, because the US and Canadian market is only 300-400 million people out of 6 billion people, they need to get their heads out of their ass up at the RIAA.

[Stephen Dame]

I'm so happy to have read this thread. Their are some folks over at the newsgroup trying to turn this into a political, pro-record company, issue of shame... and to be honest, I was expecting the same thing here.

But dammit, this message board has some of the most thoughtful and intelligent comments and posters.

All sides presented: I think it's clear, this new policy is a slap in the face to loyal fans. Plain and simple.

The puretracks half-assed release, the lack of info on dates and ticket sales, and now this: If this is the new managements approach, please allow me to say that my status as a "Hip Head" is not a certainty. I can just as easily NOT buy albums, tickets and T-shirts if these types of shifts continue. I certainly will not be buying another Hip single from puretracks.

I agree 100% with those dissapointed in the band if this is accurate, while remaining skepitcal of it's context and authenticity until we know for sure.

The points about the Hip club and the apparent turn-around from the Musique Plus statement are DEAD on.

Here's hoping the Hip and their management
read this thread and take some of our constructive
critisicm into account.

Revitlizing the Hip Club,
dropping the ineffective Pure Tracks process
and having an organized and informative
release process are the first steps to curing the
"pissed off" feeling amongst us real fans.

Boys, please read this thread and take note.

[Stephen Dame]

I have to add one addition comment about the record company exec's comment that they can track what people want on the file sharing programs. That is nothing but bullshit and scare mongering, if they could track what is on P2P programs and who downloads it there would be a hell of alot more lawsuits being filed against the downloaders even if the courts give the RIAA a hard time trying to find out the people behind the screen names. Two, if there was no P2P programs bands like the Hip and Sarah Harmer would have very little chance of attracting listeners because their music is not always what execs love to call "radio friendly", .

Here, here.

[vicariousmartyr]

hmmm...i think everyone needs to just r-e-l-a-x :thumb: ....its amazing how easy it is to get whipped up into a frenzy, over what? nothing

[direwolf74]

This is an article meant to shame music Dowloaders , propaganda by the record execs...This is no message from the Hip , this is from record companies who are losing the dough, the same ones who pump out the commercial crap to make a buck.

I totally agree. Having met the Hip a few times over the years and experiencing first hand how incredibly cool and fan-friendly they are (even about bootlegs), I have a hard time believing that they would actually give two shits about people downloading and swapping their new single. Pesonally I don't think the Hip had anything to do with this article. The whole thing reeks of record company propaganda.

[thedarkcanuck]

i downloaded vs at the hundredth meridian and i feel not one bit of guilt. i will buy the new album and try to add to my 14 shows as much as humanly possible and with that comes the purchase of tour gear that i am positive will benefit the boys more than buying a single ever could. i long for the day when record companies are obsolete...they remind of oil companies with their obscene greed.

[VioletlightHeron]

i long for the day when record companies are obsolete...they remind of oil companies with their obscene greed.

More along the lines of the old Standard Oil monopoly in the "good old days" of robber baron capitalism or the railroads back then, charging obscene rates and running competitors out of business by hook or by crook. It's amazing to me that Congress or the courts dont do more about the standard record contracts that rip off upcoming artists or the way they "lose" track of artists they owe royalities too. Just think about it this way, when Universal, or whatever movie company produced Forrest Gump, they signed a contract with the book's author for the rights that promised him a 2 percent cut of the film's "net income" and then claimed the movie had actually lost movie through all sorts of accounting shenanigans that make Enron look like little prepubscent boys. The record companies do the nearly the same thing. And they wonder why people have such short attention spans and download alot :roll:

[K-Town Lassie]

I remembered reading something a while ago about Paul's take on this issue. The article touched on Napster, not Kaaza, but the idea is the same I guess. (The article is a few years old--circa 2000).

Anyway, I trolled around until I found it. Most of you have probably read this already, but for those who haven't, you might find it interesting.


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Cheers

[vicariousmartyr]

im glad you pulled that up, hopefully somewhat quell all this unrest...good job

[K-Town Lassie]

Thanks

[april_wino1]

I am so glad to see that there are other non-Canadians who feel the same way about this as I do. I happen to really love Canadian music a lot - and I really wish it was more accessible in the States.

[KingLear]

In the Netherlands we don't have Puretracks. So it is a very difficult job to listen to music of the band we adore. (You lucky Canadians)
So that might be reason a lot overhere downloading it from KaZaa etc.
But don't be afraid, if you are a fan of the Hip, you only want the real stuff.