Costello "official" website

Pretty self-explanatory
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nobodygirl
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by nobodygirl »

thepopeofpop wrote:
sweetest punch wrote: The way the music business is going there may be no more physical releases of albums within a year or two in the USA on major labels - most big stores in the US are cutting their CD inventories down to zero, and the major record companies in the USA are meekly going along with this and will stop manufacturing CDs fairly soon, since there will be almost nowhere to sell them. Once new releases are all downloads then really, what's the difference? Why would EC need a major label to promote him if his work is only going to be sold via iTunes? You don't need to be on a label to put your album on iTunes. Hell, my album is on iTunes!
I find it hard to believe that any label will completely stop production of CDs. There will always be audiophile customers who prefer the sound of CDs (or vinyl) to mp3. More than that, there will always be people who prefer having their music in some sort of physical medium, especially for their favorite artists. I think that the only change is going to be concerning who CDs are marketed to. Teenagers will have their mp3s, lightweight music fans will also probably buy digitally, but there will be a special market for CDs, just like there's currently a special market for vinyl. I don't see CDs going the way of the cassette tape.

I did read something the other day that broke my heart. Apparently the younger generation (my peers...) actually likes the sound of mp3s better than higher quality mediums, such as FLAC, CDs, and vinyl. So sad...
Your friends said you were better off dead
You were dead anyway from the start
--RA
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thepopeofpop
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by thepopeofpop »

nobodygirl wrote: I find it hard to believe that any label will completely stop production of CDs. There will always be audiophile customers who prefer the sound of CDs (or vinyl) to mp3. More than that, there will always be people who prefer having their music in some sort of physical medium, especially for their favorite artists.
I didn't believe it either when I was initially told this, but the person who told me (who works at a major label) insists that it's true. I said "but this would be commercial suicide - up to 90% of many new releases are sold on CD" and they said "the industry is so scared of downloads that they are not making rational decisions any more".

If major labels really cared about "audiophile customers" then they wouldn't master CDs the way they do these days. Audiophile forums are full of complaints about this - that CDs are mastered for maximum loudness even though it ruins the sound quality.

The problem is that the audiophile market is very small. The number of LPs sold, for example, is tiny. A few million per year versus hundreds of millions of CDs.

This doesn't mean that CDs will disappear completely of course. There will still be US companies like Audio Fidelity doing audiophile remasters for the specialist market, and of course CDs will still be manufactured in Japan and Europe and other places.
--Paul--
Now put on your ironic dancing shoes
And dig my brand new rhythm and hues:
https://www.paulinglis.org
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nobodygirl
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by nobodygirl »

thepopeofpop wrote: I didn't believe it either when I was initially told this, but the person who told me (who works at a major label) insists that it's true. I said "but this would be commercial suicide - up to 90% of many new releases are sold on CD" and they said "the industry is so scared of downloads that they are not making rational decisions any more".

If major labels really cared about "audiophile customers" then they wouldn't master CDs the way they do these days. Audiophile forums are full of complaints about this - that CDs are mastered for maximum loudness even though it ruins the sound quality.

The problem is that the audiophile market is very small. The number of LPs sold, for example, is tiny. A few million per year versus hundreds of millions of CDs.

This doesn't mean that CDs will disappear completely of course. There will still be US companies like Audio Fidelity doing audiophile remasters for the specialist market, and of course CDs will still be manufactured in Japan and Europe and other places.
I'm studying music business, and there's been talk of this, but I can't imagine that selling a physical product will ever die out completely. If nothing else indie labels will probably continue to press CDs because it's easier to sell that product at shows. I really hope that download cards don't replace CDs (especially since that's all I can play in my car, no CDRs for me...), and I just can't see it happening, I can't see FANS being satisfied without having the opportunity to buy physical product.

Also, the way CDs are mastered these days has nothing to do with audiophiles, you're right. Then again, the bands with the worst mastering (read: Fall Out Boy) aren't aimed at people who care how their music sounds anyway. On the other hand, I thought that Momofuku's mastering was awesome. These days most companies compress the living hell out of the music so that it will be louder, thus it will stand out on the radio (people still listen to radio?). It's exactly what commercials have been doing for years. It's disgusting.
Your friends said you were better off dead
You were dead anyway from the start
--RA
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nobodygirl
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by nobodygirl »

Also, here's an interesting article about CD Baby. Even though everyone else in the CD department experienced losses, they grew in 2008. Like I said, I think that CDs will just shift to the indie market.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/200901 ... 3523.shtml
Your friends said you were better off dead
You were dead anyway from the start
--RA
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always dancing
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by always dancing »

Look what I got.

Dear Cheryl....

Thank you for your reply regarding a refund for your Elvis Costello.com subscription. As you are aware this email is coming directly from the Elvis Costello organisation and not from a third party or from the current web hosts. As we do not have the same facilities as the web hosts we can only offer the refund in the form of a cheque, which we will send out to the address we have on file, which you gave at the time of subscription. Please can you let us know if this is acceptable?

As previously mentioned the current Elvis Costello model didn’t work for us but we are currently working on a new Elvis Costello web concept, which will be available later this year.

We would like to thank you for your support over the last year and thank you for your patience in this matter.

Many Thanks
scielle
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by scielle »

What exactly is The Elvis Costello Organisation?

Does Elvis sign the cheque?
johnfoyle
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by johnfoyle »

What exactly is The Elvis Costello Organisation?
When I go to the Basingstoke show maybe I should check this out !


http://www.creditgate.com/companysearch ... MITED.aspx
(extract)


Company Name: ELVIS COSTELLO LIMITED

Company Type:
Limited Company

Company No:
01517662

Company Address:
ELVIS COSTELLO LIMITED
Clifton House
Bunnian Place
BASINGSTOKE
RG21 7JE


Date:
05/12/2008
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thepopeofpop
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by thepopeofpop »

A cheque? From a US bank? For $35? Which I would have to attempt to bank in the Netherlands? Yeah right, it would cost me nearly $35 to attempt that trick! I think I'll take Elvis' offer of $35 credit on his next web venture.
--Paul--
Now put on your ironic dancing shoes
And dig my brand new rhythm and hues:
https://www.paulinglis.org
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thepopeofpop
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by thepopeofpop »

So Cheryl,

Did you reply to the address on that email from Elvis then? If so I will indicate to them my desire, risky though it is, to chance it all on Elvis' next web excursion. Third times a charm, so they say...
--Paul--
Now put on your ironic dancing shoes
And dig my brand new rhythm and hues:
https://www.paulinglis.org
scielle
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by scielle »

johnfoyle wrote:
What exactly is The Elvis Costello Organisation?
When I go to the Basingstoke show maybe I should check this out !


http://www.creditgate.com/companysearch ... MITED.aspx
(extract)


Company Name: ELVIS COSTELLO LIMITED

Company Type:
Limited Company

Company No:
01517662

Company Address:
ELVIS COSTELLO LIMITED
Clifton House
Bunnian Place
BASINGSTOKE
RG21 7JE
OMG, you're right!
I just looked it up on Companies House - incorporated in 1980. 2 pages of documents for download.
cwr
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by cwr »

After the rapid crash-and-burn of the 2008 reinvention of elviscostello.com, there is obviously a basic awareness among EC and his people that a new Costello "web concept" has to actually offer something of interest if it's going to be worth anything at all. Otherwise, they might as well just leave it as it is, minus the subscriptions-- since EC gave up on actively participating in his site back in 2002, the updates they (or the record company people) did for NORTH, TDM and TRIR were all pretty perfunctory, and they could return to that kind of site almost instantly. A few of us would take notice of the change and then it would be basically ignored by most fans the way that it was, generally, from 2002 to 2008.

So EC and his team-- whoever is putting together the new "web concept"-- must be thinking of what they can do to make a new website worth their time and effort. They would do well to look at Dylan's website, which is relatively simple and has consistently been more impressive than EC's for the past decade, and is doing a pretty good job of attracting interest in the run-up to his new album.

Offering the first track ("Beyond Here Lies Nothin'") as a free mp3 for 24 hours, and making a second track available in streaming format ("I Feel A Change Comin' On") is the type of move that is probably counter-intuitive for a lot of artists, who might feel like they are simply GIVING away their music, but it makes perfect sense. Almost everybody downloading "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" is gonna end up buying the album-- the free track giveaway is basically the 2009 equivalent of what used to be releasing an advance single to radio, or premiering the video on MTV. EC actually did this back in 2002, when you could listen to "Tear Off Your Own Head" on his website well before WIWC came out, and it didn't seem to hurt that album's sales one bit. There's no reason I can think of that his website shouldn't be streaming "Complicated Shadows" right this very minute when you go to visit his website. (It's already available here, so why not there?)

Likewise, the serialized Dylan interview with Bill Flanagan is a nice feature-- now, obviously, a new Dylan interview is bigger news because, well, he's DYLAN. And Bob's comments on Obama managed to make news and spread all over the place in a way that even a really great Costello interview is unlikely to achieve. But lord knows, EC loves to talk, and he's good at it. Why not have him sit down every now and then with somebody smart who can ask him questions, record it all, and put it on the site? They'd never run out of material.

And anytime EC sits down to write something in prose-- liner notes, magazine articles or the lengthy "journal" entries he contributed to the site back in '02 and resumed last year and recently-- it's never less than compelling. It seems like it wouldn't be that difficult for him to contribute some kind of new writings for his own website on a semi-regular basis. In fact, I suspect that the real difficulty for EC might be that once he gets started, there's no stopping him. The length of his journal entries and answers to fans' questions back in 2002 would indicate that he found it all a bit too time-consuming a distraction.

Every time I've listened to Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, I think that, as great as it is to hear Bob as DJ, Costello is even better at it. His occasional guest appearances on Irish radio in the late 90s were tremendous fun-- he picks great music and is of course very sharp and witty in the way he presents it. It occurs to me that, considering how much dislike and disinterest he has expressed regarding the Internet, it's amazing how ideally-suited he seems to be for blogging and podcasting. Loves to write, loves to talk, and is extremely adept at both. Whoever's working on this site, it seems like they should set it up so it's as easy as possible for him to write or record something and have it appear on the site whenever he wants, as soon as he wants it.

There are other fun things about the way Dylan's site is set up at the moment-- you can register and make playlists of Dylan songs, and every week a new featured playlist is chosen, and those songs are fully playable in the little streaming jukebox set-up they have. The way his discography is presented is attractive and easy to navigate, and all the lyrics are there, and it's just easy and nice and fun. By contrast, the EC 2008 redesign is more than a little clunky and difficult.

It's pretty easy to figure out what a good official Costello site would have-- a lot of words and music, and maybe some video. And if they want to make any money off of it, sell cool stuff. A perfect example of the wrong-headed thinking of this last redesign was the big banner ads announcing that Taking Liberties and Out Of Our Idiot were finally available to buy as mp3 downloads-- as if there was this great mass of EC fans out there who just couldn't figure out how to get mp3s of those songs off of their CDs.

Unreleased stuff. New stuff. Live recordings, demos, obscure things that would never warrant a full-scale CD release. This is the type of stuff that a new site should offer, if it's going to have any real point. And it would be smart to have some of it be free, but if he recorded a new song and wanted to charge a dollar or two, I'd buy it and so would a lot of other people. Actually, a lot more people than have been buying any CD singles he's released since "Veronica."

Part of me feels like a sap for agreeing that the "third time's the charm." And if they were just saying "we give up, here's your money back, Costello hates websites" then I'd probably just throw up my hands and lament that it sucks that they couldn't make it work. But the mere fact that they still seem to be trying to work this out indicates to me that they will do it, and do it right this time. Because this isn't figuring out how to save the planet or cure cancer-- all they have to do is make a website that Costello fans will like, and that could also attract the curious non-fan in a way that would make them want to become one. And the way to do that is to make the site interesting and fun and worth visiting. This is entirely do-able.
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always dancing
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by always dancing »

I actually suggested they ask a few "fans' to test run a new site and help them work out bugs and give suggestions.
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verbal gymnastics
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by verbal gymnastics »

The people who subscribed to the website are obviously hardcore. Why don't they just ask them what they would like the new site to contain and try something revolutionary like listen to them and take notice.
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
CostelLover
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by CostelLover »

OK, so has anyone else requested a refund? If so, have you received it yet? And if you did, how did you go about it???

I've sent several emails to the "official" website addy and ~ needless to say ~ have not heard back from them. I also replied directly to the email I received, asking how to go about getting a refund. Zero reply so far. (talk about adding insult to injury... :( )

Anyone?
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thepopeofpop
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by thepopeofpop »

CostelLover wrote:OK, so has anyone else requested a refund? If so, have you received it yet? And if you did, how did you go about it???

I've sent several emails to the "official" website addy and ~ needless to say ~ have not heard back from them. I also replied directly to the email I received, asking how to go about getting a refund. Zero reply so far. (talk about adding insult to injury... :( )

Anyone?
No freakin' idea, actually. I have wondered the same thing. Apparently Elvis' "people" only check on this site to make sure no one is posting mp3s (or making announcements about playing the new album on radio before they're supposed to). Actual fans enquiring about the official web site, and certain promises made by a certain Mr Costello regarding refunds or credits, seem to be ignored.

There's nowhere on the official site where the question can be asked, so it's not as if there is an obvious "official" channel of enquiry. I suppose one could write a letter to Elvis' management.

Better yet, maybe we should start a new thread with a provocative title, like "Nude Pictures of Elvis" or "Download the new Costello album illegally for free!", to get their attention and then post our grievances there.
--Paul--
Now put on your ironic dancing shoes
And dig my brand new rhythm and hues:
https://www.paulinglis.org
cwr
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by cwr »

Apparently Elvis' "people" only check on this site to make sure no one is posting mp3s (or making announcements about playing the new album on radio before they're supposed to). Actual fans enquiring about the official web site, and certain promises made by a certain Mr Costello regarding refunds or credits, seem to be ignored.
I would imagine that there's a good chance that the website might get updated at some point before the new album comes out-- right now, it certainly seems like there's absolutely no one running it, since the last update was on April 3rd, and there is not so much as a mention of the fact that his new single is out on iTunes and Amazon. One would think that if ANYONE was working on that site, that this would be a point worth mentioning-- y'know, New Song Now Available For Purchase...

So I'm assuming that the reason for this is that they are in transition, and that when the "new" site goes 'live', that's when there'll be some mechanism for claiming refunds, etc.

But then again, I'm one of the idiots who thought it would be a good idea to pay $35 for an exclusive membership, so what do I know?
woz
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by woz »

CWR,

If it makes you feel better to have company, I too shelled out $35. The kick for me is that I can see myself in the two El Rey videos from this summer but I can't download them. That entire show was videotaped and afterward I asked who the tape was for. The response by the camera guy was that it was for the "new" website which we now all know was a bust unless you want to be kept in dark about upcoming performances.

I'm hoping that the new new website will at least be managed.

I forgot who posted it here, but the Elvis folk really ought to reach out to those of us who paid the $35 and get our opinions and thoughts. Seriously, how many people do you think actually paid?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the new album. I haven't heard any of the early releases as I was hoping to get the new single on vinyl on Record Store Day but couldn't find it in L.A.

Cheers.
CostelLover
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by CostelLover »

Well, I finally got a reply yesterday morning, posted below:


Dear Kathy....

Thank you for your reply regarding a refund for your Elvis Costello.com subscription. As you are aware this email is coming directly from the Elvis Costello organisation and not from a third party or from the current web hosts. As we do not have the same facilities as the web hosts we can only offer the refund in the form of a cheque, which we will send out to the address we have on file, which you gave at the time of subscription. Please can you let us know if this is acceptable?

As previously mentioned the current Elvis Costello model didn’t work for us but we are currently working on a new Elvis Costello web concept, which will be available later this year.

We would like to thank you for your support over the last year and thank you for your patience in this matter.


Many Thanks


Finally... signs of life. (and that $35 will pay for a few drinks on my next cruise 8) )
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thepopeofpop
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by thepopeofpop »

CostelLover wrote:Well, I finally got a reply yesterday morning, posted below:


Dear Kathy....

Thank you for your reply regarding a refund for your Elvis Costello.com subscription.
Kathy - did you get this mail in response to contacting the ElvisCostello.com website, or by replying to the address in that email from Elvis that promised a refund?
--Paul--
Now put on your ironic dancing shoes
And dig my brand new rhythm and hues:
https://www.paulinglis.org
CostelLover
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by CostelLover »

I received it from the email addy that promised a refund.
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thepopeofpop
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by thepopeofpop »

Thanks! I've sent them a long and thoughtful email.
--Paul--
Now put on your ironic dancing shoes
And dig my brand new rhythm and hues:
https://www.paulinglis.org
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always dancing
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by always dancing »

I GOT A $35 CASHIER's CHECK FROM "Remitter Elvis Costello" with the enclosed letter
April 27, 2009

Please find enclosed your refund from ElvisCostello.com in the amount of $35.

Many Thanks,



Elvis Costello


Now should I keep the check as a collectible? That would screw them up. It unfortunately is signed by the guy at Chase Bank not Elvis. Do you think he actually went down to the bank with a list of names and got the cashiers checks? LOL
CostelLover
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by CostelLover »

thepopeofpop wrote:Thanks! I've sent them a long and thoughtful email.
Hmmm... "a long and thoughtful email", eh? I can only imagine! :mrgreen:
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thepopeofpop
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by thepopeofpop »

CostelLover wrote:
thepopeofpop wrote:Thanks! I've sent them a long and thoughtful email.
Hmmm... "a long and thoughtful email", eh? I can only imagine! :mrgreen:
:wink: Yeah, but really I just sent them some ideas as to what sort of things I thought Elvis should be doing on the web - some of which I've mentioned here before. The reply I have just received says that "they" will consider my suggestions, and that my comments were appreciated. That's about what I expected - I didn't have visions of EC's personal assistant running into his room, waving a printout of my email, while shrieking "Eureka! He's got it!" :mrgreen:

They also said they could send bankers drafts in various different currencies, or of course do the "credit" option (which is what I'd sort of plumped for).
--Paul--
Now put on your ironic dancing shoes
And dig my brand new rhythm and hues:
https://www.paulinglis.org
woz
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Re: Costello "official" website

Post by woz »

The official website has been redesigned and you can hear the new album SP&S (or at least some of the songs) just by going to it.

The new design is interesting and plays off SP&S in terms of the images.

Take a look, it's interesting.

Cheers all.

Woz
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