I’m currently enjoying “The Eternal,” Sonic Youth’s first independent label record since the 1980′s. It’s great to hear a new record. It’s great to see the influential group supporting (and supported by) the great Matador. So far, so awesome. I’m loving it, well done.
The official release date for “The Eternal” is July June 9th, but Matador Records is making it available NOW through the label’s Buy Early Get Now (BEGN) promo program. I went to Amoeba and forked over almost forty bucks for the PRIVILEGE of streaming the record off the Matador site now and getting first crack at presale tickets for the band’s August show at the newly renovated Fox Theater in Oakland… and a bunch of other shit I don’t really want or especially care about.
I respect Matador’s commitment to fans who are willing to buy early as opposed to downloading the inevitable album leak, but I’m not wild about the hefty price tag. I realize that 1) Matador’s beautiful, virgin vinyl is expensive to produce. 2) Matador is trying to reward people who actually pay for music. 3) That a “blue chip indie” like Matador should be a profitable venture and they don’t owe me shit.
In fact, I owe Matador. I love the label. I love Sonic Youth. But I still feel a bit cheapened.
Here’s why:
I’m not saying they do, but Matador shouldn’t feel like it’s doing me or other fans any favors. Stick to the music business and don’t go into ticket scalping. I’m a big fan, and I honestly don’t care about all of this extra crap. I just want to make sure I can get good tickets for the show and hear the record NOW. A few points: 1) Big fans get good tickets to the show without paying out the ass . 2) If I recall properly from ticket prices at other Sonic Youth shows, I pay out the ass for them anyway. 3) If you want to reward people who buy music, throw them a bone… not a fine. Spend a little money, reward the customer and keep the customers for life. Or at least be forthright and package BEGN as paying extra for frills that help the label. I could buy into that.
I do see the argument that by signing Sonic Youth Matador holds a valuable commodity. And, yes, an amazing band that I and thousands of others will pay a lot of extra money to get the most of . These days independent labels need to make money off their big acts so they can provide some crucial services like investing in higher risk artists , providing an alternative to corporate media, and maintaining a culture of integrity in the music business.
Still, I kind of feel like I’m paying the price for the unscrupulous distribution of promotional copies, and the unethical downloading practices of people who don’t support the label to begin with. I can preorder “The Eternal” online without any of the extra frills, though it’s unclear whether full album stream is part of “the bonus materials.” What good does that do my record store, though? In either case, I shouldn’t have to pay for the privilege of hearing music early, or for supporting my local record store. I would willfully pay to help the label, but whether it’s good for Matador or not: those options are availible without BEGN.