I've seen the trailer for this and it looks quite good, its not your typical action movie, some effort seems to have been put into it.
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Apple gets Exclusive Distribution of Soundtrack
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I wonder if this will become more common once the iTunes Music Store has been ported for Windows. Hmm...
This movie seemed like it was going to be very good. But, I don't know...lol...Sean Connery: "That was naughty"
Maybe this is not only a marketing move to promote the iTMS in general... maybe it is also a test to see how fast and numerous the songs of the sound track end up in some P2P-networks for free download. That way they would have a ratio legal/illegal for downloadable music for the first time. Before it was hard to measure because there were always the "normal" CDs being burned/duplicated and converted to MP3s. If Apple can show that illegal copies are way less often with their iTMS while being highly acepted by users then they'll be the de facto standard for legal music download on the internet in the future and no artist with two brain-cells left can argue against it...
Just a thought though.
groovebuster
Just a thought though.
groovebuster
Conspiracy Theory
Mr Paranoid here with todays hairbrained thought.
I think this is a clever way to gauge the pulse of music pirates. Release the soundtrack ONLY in a single location then tracks it's progress out to the web. Could be a way for Apple to prove (or disprove for that matter) how well thier copy protection schema works.
"I'm not paranoid just because everyone is out to get me..."
Mr Paranoid here with todays hairbrained thought.
I think this is a clever way to gauge the pulse of music pirates. Release the soundtrack ONLY in a single location then tracks it's progress out to the web. Could be a way for Apple to prove (or disprove for that matter) how well thier copy protection schema works.
"I'm not paranoid just because everyone is out to get me..."
Does anyone know what's actually on the soundtrack?
I just waded through a steaming pile of Flash on the movie website and couldn't find anything about the soundtrack.
I just waded through a steaming pile of Flash on the movie website and couldn't find anything about the soundtrack.
Not the best album to try this out on
For one thing, the soundtrack is a score by the London Symphony Orchestra. It's not individual songs by well-known bands. It's a little hard to imagine some 14 year old saying "Whoa, I just have to have that violin piece they played when Sean Connery leapt over the bridge - it really blew me away".
For another thing, the graphic novel has (like most Alan Moore) an intelligent, multi-levelled storyline which the film (according to the trailer) seems to have morphed into a standard crappy action flick, the only unusual aspect of which being that everybody wears hats.
I say, blah.
For one thing, the soundtrack is a score by the London Symphony Orchestra. It's not individual songs by well-known bands. It's a little hard to imagine some 14 year old saying "Whoa, I just have to have that violin piece they played when Sean Connery leapt over the bridge - it really blew me away".
For another thing, the graphic novel has (like most Alan Moore) an intelligent, multi-levelled storyline which the film (according to the trailer) seems to have morphed into a standard crappy action flick, the only unusual aspect of which being that everybody wears hats.
I say, blah.
Sean Connery might be just shy of 73, but he is by far the baddest m-fing great-grandfather on the planet. Most of the 30-40ish women I know would gladly run off with him were he to so much as squint at them.
Besides, the movie's got lots of other younger people in it - Peta Wilson's barely thirty! And SUCH a babe. And what about the guy playing Agent Tom Sawyer?
I for one think this is great. I love movie scores and would love the chance to get ones not available in stores if this becomes a regular feature. Case in point: my favorite movie composer is Hans Zimmer and his wonderful score to The Ring was never produced commercially but if it were to be offered on iTMS for example, I'd grab it in a heart beat!
And as for what's on the score, it's already available for download at iTMS so just go over there and listen to the prievew.
And as for what's on the score, it's already available for download at iTMS so just go over there and listen to the prievew.
Re: Not the best album to try this out on
Maybe that exactly is the advantage of taking a soundtrack like that. The iTMS that way can be made very atractive to labels working in little niches of the market. What could be better to try it out and to study the reaction of a very specific consumer group?
This is just an experiment. Do you think any "normal" artist or label at the given time would give exclusive rights for a "CD" to Apple? I don't think so. But for getting some statistics about certain things it is just perfect. Based on theses statistics they can evaluate their business model and have a better position for (re-)negotiating contracts with the labels.
groovebuster
Maybe that exactly is the advantage of taking a soundtrack like that. The iTMS that way can be made very atractive to labels working in little niches of the market. What could be better to try it out and to study the reaction of a very specific consumer group?
This is just an experiment. Do you think any "normal" artist or label at the given time would give exclusive rights for a "CD" to Apple? I don't think so. But for getting some statistics about certain things it is just perfect. Based on theses statistics they can evaluate their business model and have a better position for (re-)negotiating contracts with the labels.
groovebuster
Re: This is a Good Thing
Agreed. Realistically, this probably takes a HUGE amount of risk out of music distribution. I mean, there is basically no such thing as digital bargain bin for unsellable tracks to end up in. If a track won't sell, all it costs them is a little server space and all they have to do is take it off the server to fix that problem. With an actual compact disc, you can't take back what resources you've already put into it. You can't erase the disk for certain and you certainly don't want to recall all those CDs just so you can throw away the liner notes and reuse the case. The initial fixed investment on CDs has to be higher than this model. Like someone else said, if this sound track doesn't sell, no one is really stuck with a bill...or a pile of CDs.
Agreed. Realistically, this probably takes a HUGE amount of risk out of music distribution. I mean, there is basically no such thing as digital bargain bin for unsellable tracks to end up in. If a track won't sell, all it costs them is a little server space and all they have to do is take it off the server to fix that problem. With an actual compact disc, you can't take back what resources you've already put into it. You can't erase the disk for certain and you certainly don't want to recall all those CDs just so you can throw away the liner notes and reuse the case. The initial fixed investment on CDs has to be higher than this model. Like someone else said, if this sound track doesn't sell, no one is really stuck with a bill...or a pile of CDs.
Sales of the album might go up after the movie comes out and people here the songs. I'm going to go and see it this weekend, I think.
I'll be paying special attention to the soundtrack and watch the credits. Who knows, there might be some good songs on there. Although the gothic tone of the movie might reflect in its soundtrack.
D
I'll be paying special attention to the soundtrack and watch the credits. Who knows, there might be some good songs on there. Although the gothic tone of the movie might reflect in its soundtrack.
D
My first reaction was that this was silly -- after all, they're cutting out the majority of their target audience (people who don't own Macs).
Then I stopped to think about it. How much money does the production company itself normally see from the release of a movie soundtrack? We know that iTunes has the ability to return a much higher percentage (of a somewhat smaller price) to the actual music owners, rather than the distribution company. I think that that's going to be the real killer. If they can return enough money directly to make the owners happy, without involving any other distributors, that's all that counts. Add in the assumption that once the Windows iTms is complete that the numbers would have been substantially higher, and we may have a winner here.
Or, heck, someone could have lost a bet.
Then I stopped to think about it. How much money does the production company itself normally see from the release of a movie soundtrack? We know that iTunes has the ability to return a much higher percentage (of a somewhat smaller price) to the actual music owners, rather than the distribution company. I think that that's going to be the real killer. If they can return enough money directly to make the owners happy, without involving any other distributors, that's all that counts. Add in the assumption that once the Windows iTms is complete that the numbers would have been substantially higher, and we may have a winner here.
Or, heck, someone could have lost a bet.
I guess if insurance would give you money for it, that might be a possibility. Does your insurance company pay out for software on a stolen laptop? That's the only way I see it happening. Just to be sure, make a backup just like you should do with your software.
I'm thinking this might not be a good thing. Most people here think the movie (and therefore the soudtrack?) will tank. I don't know about that, but if it's so, there's a nice low selling soundtrack that is the first to be sold exclusively by ITMS. Who's to blame? The studio and record company will blame Apple, and Apple will blame the studio and record company. Who wins? Definitely not Apple b/c with poor results, no one else will try this again in the near future, at least not with Apple's music service.
First off, the comic books that this movie is based on are a very fun read. Definately smarter than your average comic. Alan Moore isn't interested in getting involved in movie adaptations, and as a result, movies of his work get severely 'dumbed down' (anyone who's read his "From Hell" and then saw the movie I'm sure would agree).
As to the soundtrack, it's pretty standard orchestral soundtrack fare (take one part John Williams, one part Danny Elfman, shake well). Even if the movie does reasonably well, I can't imagine people would be rushing out to buy it. I'm thinking this whole Apple Exclusive thing is just a publicity stunt. And it's better than having hundreds of your cd's in the bargain bin just as the DVD is coming out.
As to the soundtrack, it's pretty standard orchestral soundtrack fare (take one part John Williams, one part Danny Elfman, shake well). Even if the movie does reasonably well, I can't imagine people would be rushing out to buy it. I'm thinking this whole Apple Exclusive thing is just a publicity stunt. And it's better than having hundreds of your cd's in the bargain bin just as the DVD is coming out.
Originally posted by groovebuster
Mmmmh... isn't that what I just said???
groovebuster
Whoops, was a cross-post-thingy. I started typing my post before yours but got sidetracked until I finished, submitted later. My bad, sorry
Yeah. That's gonna be some really high fidelity stuff. AAC to CD to MP3. Yikes. I think we can safely say the record companies are as worried about that as they are people selling cassette tape copies of cassette tapes. Ok, it's a little better than that, but playing MP3 through a home stereo isn't very fullfilling. Especially one that's been running through the compression wringer a few times.
How many sales of this album soundtrack will be considered a success? Its stupid to sell a soundtrack exclusively on iTMS right now because only 3% of the market actually owns a Mac. How much of this market will bother paying $9.99 to download it? It will end up with very very low sales numbers. Heck, iTMS is only available in America. They just cut out almost all of their market. It would be like selling this soundtrack only to Armenians or something. No offense, but there aren't too many Armenians. Its just silly.
And sometimes people only become interested in buying something when they see it on the rack. They pick it up, take a look, remembered that they enjoyed the music from the movie, and possibly buy it. By selling it only on iTMS, I would never buy it. I only go to iTMS when there is something specific that I'm looking for. I rarely browse, and I always know what I'm looking for already. Its not the same when I go to the (store) music store.
Its just silly.And sometimes people only become interested in buying something when they see it on the rack. They pick it up, take a look, remembered that they enjoyed the music from the movie, and possibly buy it. By selling it only on iTMS, I would never buy it. I only go to iTMS when there is something specific that I'm looking for. I rarely browse, and I always know what I'm looking for already. Its not the same when I go to the (store) music store.
2 things:
First I'm going to quote the first post from this story on Slashdot.
Wow... This is about as exciting as having dibs on the digitally remastered soundtrack to Highlander II.
Second. I think the coolest thing record companies are seeing with the iTunes music store is the ability to release a track from an upcomming CD. Road Runner just put up the track from Thursdays album and I bought it. I will also be buying the full CD when it comes out. There's a lot of fans for different artists that will do this same double buy.
First I'm going to quote the first post from this story on Slashdot.
Wow... This is about as exciting as having dibs on the digitally remastered soundtrack to Highlander II.
Second. I think the coolest thing record companies are seeing with the iTunes music store is the ability to release a track from an upcomming CD. Road Runner just put up the track from Thursdays album and I bought it. I will also be buying the full CD when it comes out. There's a lot of fans for different artists that will do this same double buy.
Re: Not the best album to try this out on
I assume that Twentieth Century Fox (why aren't they Twenty-First Century Fox now?) agreed to this deal, with its very limited market, because (1) they weren't going to make much money off the soundtrack anyway and (2) they'll get a free shot of publicity from the new distribution method. In other words, the executives had little to lose and said "what the heck, let's try it."
I know a musician who does exactly that. When I see a movie, I remember the dialog, the plot, and the visuals. He remembers the music. I say "I liked the way Hannibal the Cannibal wiped his mouth on his sleeve after eating the mailman" and he says "I liked the music in the scene where Hannibal got a job as a cook at McDonalds". He buys soundtracks to dramas. I only buy soundtracks to musicals.
I assume that Twentieth Century Fox (why aren't they Twenty-First Century Fox now?) agreed to this deal, with its very limited market, because (1) they weren't going to make much money off the soundtrack anyway and (2) they'll get a free shot of publicity from the new distribution method. In other words, the executives had little to lose and said "what the heck, let's try it."