Tomorrow Bloc Party are set to release their third album Intimacy, taking the increasingly common step of rushing it out in order to avoid leakage onto peer-to-peer downloading networks. Except they’re not releasing it properly, they’re just making it available to download two months before the CD is available to buy. Two months!
For someone like myself who values the physical artefact of an album, this is a bit of a slap in the face. I enjoy savouring the unique moment of placing a new CD in the stereo and listening to those new notes for the very first time. Yes, you can preorder the physical release now while still getting the download for a total of £10 (its £5 and £8 for the download and CD separately), but why should fans be restricted in this way or forced to wait longer to receive their prized new record when they are the ones who are willing to pay for the album and probably who will value it the most?
Of course the music industry today is in turmoil and needs to find new ways to make money to combat the popularity of illegal downloading. But this strategy seems both foolhardy and disrespectful to fans. Making it available online so far in advance of the physical release will not stop it from appearing on peer-to-peer networks. CD buyers who make still make up the majority of the record-buying public are unlikely to be lured into legal downloads this way and so a huge part of the market will be cut out for rather a long period of time. Why not make the most of these fans’ enthusiasm by releasing the physical record sooner?
I have another issue with Bloc Party’s methods here. We have been promised that the CD will have different tracks to the initial internet release but it has not been specified what exactly these tracks will be. They could be bonus b-sides, live versions, additional new album tracks or something different altogether. If they are effectively bonus tracks then the marketing strategy seems confused – why snub CD buyers for now while simultaneously encouraging people to hold out for the physical release with the prospect of extra material?
If, on the other hand, these tracks are intended to form part of the actual album itself, then you have to wonder about the band’s respect for the album format. It seemed so strange, in the case of second long-player A Weekend in the City, that a group who had taken the time to craft a quasi-concept album would be happy to re-release it with an additional single jammed in the middle, throwing the integrity of the tracklisting and running order out the window. Now, their third album could be altered in a similar way.
Of course whether these tactics are down to the band themselves or their record company is unclear. But what seems apparent is that artists and industry types alike have yet to formulate a realistic and sensible strategy to combat internet piracy.
Intimacy is available to download and pre-order from Thursday 21 August from www.blocparty.com
