Off: CD Promo

[pete howe]

O.K....IVE BEEN SENT 2 COPIES...IM NOT SELLING THE SPARE ONE TO MAKE
MONEY,LIKE ONE OF THE EBAY SELLERS... ITS NOT IN MY NATURE...AND IM NOT
GOING TO HANG ONTO IT FOR 5 YEARS AND THEN SELL IT, IM GOING TO DO WHAT IT
SAYS ON THE HAWKWIND WEBSITE..PASS IT ON!!!SO,IF ANY ONE WANTS MY SPARE
COPY, WITH STICKERS ETC, LET ME KNOW,AND I'LL SEND IT ON....I'LL EVEN PAY
FOR THE DARN POSTAGE,(as hawkwind had to)!!!(uk only please, though!)IF YOU
WANT TO SELL IT,AFTER THAT, THATS UP TO YOU AND YOUR CONSCIENCE!
   Maybe,next time, Hawkwind should charge for these free items...then
no-one would be making money,except maybe,and rightly, hawkwind and the
record company... and also, only real fans would buy them, not greedy money
makers.
                Pete
p.s.-im glad to see that Rik & HW management are taking steps to cancel
passports of fans selling these free items that are hot off the press.



>From: Paul Mather <paul at GROMIT.DLIB.VT.EDU>
>Reply-To: BOC/Hawkwind Discussion List <BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET>
>To: BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET
>Subject: Re: Off: CD Promo
>Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 23:49:43 -0400
>
>On Fri, 2005-08-26 at 20:32 -0400, Stephe wrote:
> > Hi Paul, Well you know if it was 5 years down the road, it would
>probably be
> > a rare item right. Noone would think much then. THese guys are selling
>them
> > hot off the press. I still think its a slap in the face. This is brand
>new.
> > The album isn't released yet. Isn't a promo supposed to promote? How can
>it
> > promote, if its free and has to be paid for? Record stores don't sell
> > promo's. Maybe they should, but they'd get prosecuted. Its illegal. Read
> > whats on the cd!!!
>
>Five minutes or five years, it's all the same once they've been issued.
>A lot of promos are likely to appear on the market close to their being
>issued, because that's when DJs etc. will have them pass through their
>hands and hence into the used realm.  This is the best time, as a fan,
>to buy them, because it's when most are likely to be on the market.  I
>don't know why it's a slap in the face to sell them now rather than next
>week; next month; or next year.  Only a finite number of them are being
>released onto the second-hand market (guaranteed to passport holders,
>not to others).  And, again, I don't understand why it is a slap in the
>face to sell *this* promo item and not other Hawkwind promo items.  They
>all ultimately get billed to Hawkwind.
>
>You could actually successfully make the argument that those being sold
>on eBay are acting as promos for the band, though.  Everyone that sees
>that auction now knows there is a new Hawkwind album coming out, which
>is the primary function of the promo (to create awareness).  EBay is a
>huge market, so, arguably, this is exposing the upcoming album to more
>pairs of eyes that just sending them to passport holders (who presumably
>know already there is a new album coming out).  You may personally
>consider selling these promos as the act of an evil-doer, but it's not
>all downside.  Plus, fans are likely to pay less through eBay, as they
>don't necessarily have to finance the markup that "Collectibles" dealers
>add on as finders fees/overheads, etc.
>
> > I don't think a true HW fan would even sell theirs. Were these other
>promos,
> > collectors have bought given out by the band?
>
>In a way, yes.  They weren't sent directly to fans, like this one, but,
>unless Hawkwind had radically different contracts with their record
>companies, these promos would ultimately be billed to the band.  Things
>like advances, studio time, promotion, etc., are not free.  They are
>recouped by the record company from sales.  Nowadays, Hawkwind are more
>of a homebrew outfit, because they lack a major label contract (so far
>as I know), so grass roots efforts like the current promo dissemination
>are more likely and more sensible for successful promotion of the new
>album.  You may categorise it as a "gift to fans," but it is also
>fundamentally a promotional tool.  (If it were truly a gift, it would
>not have strings attached.  Let's be accurate here.)
>
>I don't want to get into the "true HW fan" argument, because there's far
>too much zealotry swirling around the world nowadays as it is, and it
>leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
>
> >  Did I miss something or maybe
> > its back in the olden days before I was a fan. I may be mistaken, but
>its
> > free for the asking via the HW website.
>
>Sure, it's free for the asking (assuming you know to do so, and, I
>guess, are online); it's only guaranteed to passport holders.  Only a
>finite number will be distributed, leading to an inevitable market for
>them.
>
> >  Selling it is making money on the
> > band. Its BOLLOCKS!!!!!
>
>I agree.  I'm just confused that this outrage has not surfaced before
>when previous promos have been sold.
>
> >  Same as selling boots. If one was to use it for
> > charity as Colin has, then why not do it as a raffle at a gig? It would
> > probably generate a better response.  Selling it is wrong, and I think
>any
> > fan who does it should be shot in the head.
>
>Shooting people in the head for selling a promo sounds a little extreme
>to me.  I hope you're not suggesting we shoot Colin in the head. :-)
>
> >  If your not a collector, that
> > doesn't give you the right to sell. Its illegal!! See you in court.
>
>Why is it okay if you're a collector?  (What makes someone a collector,
>anyway?)  I agree about the illegality (or at least prohibition), what
>with the "For promotional use only.  Not for sale." and all printed
>clearly.  But this is printed clearly on all the Hawkwind promos that
>have ever been issued down through the years, and I've never heard the
>Thought Police come out saying people should be shot in the head for
>selling those in the past.
>
>I guess I'm just confused about all the fuss over this particular promo
>being sold and not the others, which are also labelled as not for sale
>and ultimately paid for by the band.  But, I guess I should shut up
>about it for fear of jeopardising my chances of getting one myself (I'm
>not a passport holder, so I have to throw in my lot with all the other
>leftover lottery punters)... ;-)
>
>Cheers,
>
>Paul.
>--
>e-mail: paul at gromit.dlib.vt.edu
>
>"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production
>  deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid."
>         --- Frank Vincent Zappa

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