Archive of CD covers, front and back, in JPG format. DVD covers too.

BBC NEWS: US music bounces back from slump.

Guys, whassup? Still crying wolf? I see you have the heritage minister on your side now. Maybe someone should show her this, just to set her straight. If the industry is struggling, maybe the culprit isn’t the filesharing…maybe it’s the shite product you’ve been selling. Or all the money you’re pouring into videos.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Jeff Tweedy for president of the fucking RIAA.

Scraps 46

1. Chemical Brothers – It Began in Afrika
2. And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Ounce of Prevention
3. Pixies – Stormy Weather
4. Bad Religion – Sorrow
5. Sigur Rós – Von
6. Beta Band – Inner Meet Me
7. Rush – Nocturne
8. Grant Lee Phillips – Don’t Look Down
9. Morcheeba – Tape Loop
10. Set Fire to Flames – Steal Compass
11. Tragically Hip – Use It Up
12. Underworld – Two Months Off
13. Varnaline – Let It All Come Down
14. Bardo Pond – Tommy Gun Angel
15. Tea Party – Mantra

Scraps 47

1. Bad Religion – Materialist
2. Bardo Pond – Green Man
3. And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Richter Scale Madness
4. Beta Band – Dogs Got a Bone
5. Eminem – Lose Yourself
6. Chemical Brothers – The Test
7. Grant Lee Phillips – Folding
8. Morcheeba – Never an Easy Way
9. Sigur Rós – Hun Joro…
10. Pixies – Rock Music
11. Varnaline – Hear the Birds Cry
12. Rush – One Little Victory
13. Tragically Hip – It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken
14. Underworld – Luetin
15. Tea Party – Requiem
16. Set Fire to Flames – Fading Lights Are Fading

Scraps 48

1. Absinthe Blind – Shields
2. Art of Fighting – Give Me Tonight
3. Catherine Irwin – Cry Our Little Eyes Out
4. Charles Mingus – Better Get Hit in Yo’ Soul
5. Days of the New – L.A. Woman
6. Elbow – Something In The Air
7. Explosions In The Sky – A Song For Our Fathers
8. Flaming Lips – Funeral In My Head
9. Mint Royale – From Rusholme With Love
10. Music – You Might As Well Try To Fuck Me
11. Neko Case – Knock Loud
12. Organ Donor – Winter Song
13. Rainer Maria – Ears Ring
14. Saeta – Haunted By
15. Saint Germain – Rose Rouge
16. Social Distortion – Ring Of Fire
17. Varnaline – Difference

Scraps 49

1. Kinky – Mas
2. Aislers Set – Catherine Says
3. Ani DiFranco – Evolve
4. Beach Boys – Sloop John B
5. Calexico – Black Heart
6. Charlene – Ripoff
7. Dears – Lost In The Plot
8. Forms Icarus – Sunday
9. Massive Attack – Prayer For England
10. Neko Case – Poor Ellen Smith
11. Oleander – Hello I Love You
12. Paper Lions – He Commands Commandments
13. Photon Band – Outerspace
14. Saloon – Girls Are the New Boys
15. Sam Roberts – Dont Walk Away Eileen
16. Tangiers – Keep the Living Bodies Warm
17. Tom Waits – Gun Street Girl
18. Varnaline – Bardust
19. White Stripes – Who’s To Say
20. Zwan – Lyric
21. Gary Jules – Mad World

Scraps 50

1. AC DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
2. Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice
3. Calexico – Not Even Stevie Nicks
4. Califone – Your Golden Ass
5. Coldplay – Animals
6. Eagles – Seven Bridges Road
7. Frankenixon – Posers
8. Madonna vs The Sex Pistols – Ray of Gob
9. Massive Attack – Antistar
10. Music – Treat Me Right On
11. Nada Surf – Blonde On Blonde
12. Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves – Drive It Like You Stole It
13. Sigur Ros – Hafssol (live)
14. Smash Mouth – Peace Frog
15. Tangiers – Red Stone Rocks
16. Tom Waits – Anywhere I Lay My Head
17. Walkmen – We’ve Been Had
18. Zwan – Honestly

from p2pnet: Grand Unified Theory of Filesharing

p2pnet carried a story slugged New twist on CD sales at the end of which was a promise from Princeton professor Edward Felten that on Easter Monday – today – he’d unveil his Grand Unified Theory of Filesharing on Freedom to Tinker.

We’ve just heard from him : )

Now read on >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A Grand Unified Theory of Filesharing
By Edward Felten – Freedom to Tinker

Recently we’ve seen several studies of the impact of filesharing on CD sales. We have enough data now to draw some (very) preliminary conclusions, assuming the studies are correct. Despite the apparent contradictions between the various studies, I think there is a plausible theory that can explain them all – a Grand Unified Theory of Filesharing.

First, let’s review the three main results that have to be explained.

Survey-based studies, which ask people whether they use the Internet, whether (and how much) they use filesharing, and how many CDs they buy, find that people who fileshare buy fewer CDs.

The recent econometric study by Oberholzer and Strumpf, based on per-album time-series data on filesharing activity, CD sales, and other factors, found that filesharing has little or no effect on CD sales.

Eric Boorstin’s study found, controlling for differences in personal income, that there is a strong positive correlation between Internet usage and CD purchasing. This held true for all age groups, except the 15-24 group, for whom Internet usage correlates negatively with CD purchasing.

(It’s undisputed that CD sales have dropped sharply in recent years, but there are several plausible causes for that drop. That’s a topic for another day. Here, I’ll assume only that filesharing is not the only cause of the sales drop, so that we don’t need filesharing to explain the drop.)

The Grand Unified Theory explains the study results by breaking down the users of filesharing into two subpopulations, which I will call Free-riders and Samplers.

Free-riders are generally young. They have few if any moral qualms about filesharing, and they tend to assume that others feel the same way. They use filesharing to accumulate libraries of music, as an alternative to buying CDs.

Samplers are generally older and more risk-averse. They are highly engaged with cultural products of all sorts. They are morally conflicted about filesharing, and use it mostly to download songs that either aren’t for sale, or that they don’t value enough to pay for. They buy music that they really like, and filesharing causes them to find more music they like, so it tends to increase their CD purchases.

Now let’s look at how the theory explains the studies’ results.

In survey-based studies, Free-riders admit to filesharing and to buying fewer CDs because of their filesharing. But Samplers are reluctant to confess their filesharing to a stranger, being more risk-averse and more attuned to the dubious moral status of filesharing (not to mention its illegality). The result is that Free-riders are overcounted in survey-based studies, and Samplers are undercounted, so survey-based studies find that filesharing depresses CD sales.

The Oberholzer and Strumpf study measured the actual impact of both Free-riders and Samplers, and found that the lost sales caused by Free-riders are balanced by the increased sales due to Samplers.

The Boorstin study had different results for different age groups. His 15-24 age group was mostly Free-riders, who buy fewer CDs when they have Internet access, because their filesharing substitutes for purchases. His older age groups were mostly Samplers, who buy more CDs because of filesharing, and who are also, because of their high level of cultural engagement, predisposed to both Internet usage and CD purchasing. Therefore he found that young Internet users buy fewer CDs, while older Internet users buy a lot more.

So there you have it: a theory that explains the study results, and that seems plausible (to me, at least). Of course, there are lots of caveats here. One or more of the studies might be wrong; or the studies might be right but the theory wrong. But bear with me for a bit longer as I explore the possible consequences of the theory.

The theory says that the net effect of filesharing on CD sales is roughly zero, because of a balance between the negative impact of the Free-riders and the positive impact of the Samplers. But what happens in the future? It all depends on what happens to today’s Free-riders.

Perhaps today’s Free-riders will mature into Samplers, to be replaced by a new generation of Free-riders, so that the effects of the two groups continue in a rough balance. Or perhaps today’s Free-riders, never having known anything else, will keep Free-riding as they get older, and the balance will tip toward Free-riders.

It’s also worth noting that the theory does not predict whether (illegal, free) filesharing will reduce online sales of music. Probably the answer depends on what the online alternatives look like, and how convenient they are to use.

So the theory can explain the present situation, but it doesn’t make strong predictions about the future; or, if you prefer, the theory comes in several flavors, which differ in their future predictions. If we had a better handle on what makes one person a Free-rider and another a Sampler, we could make better predictions.

[Thanks to Eric Boorstin and Andrew Appel for helping me develop and refine these ideas.]

These are a few that, of late, have survived my (rather perpetual) culling. They’ll probably end up on the next few scraps discs.

• Angels Of Light – Rose Of Los Angeles
• Beatles – Ob La Di, Ob La Da
• Charlemagne – August Evenings
• Falconhawk – Olympia
• Jem – 24
• LCD Soundsystem – Yeah (stupid version)
• Nellie McKay – David
• Oneida – Ceasar’s Column
• Pearl Jam – Drifting
• Shangri-Las – The Train From Kansas City
• Shearwater – Whipping Boy
• Shins – Kissing The Lipless
• Shins – New Slang
• Stars – Elevator Love Letter
• Vines – Ride
• White Stripes – Let’s Shake Hands
• White Stripes – Lord Send Me An Angel
• Yo La Tengo – Nuclear War

Scraps 41

1. Crispy Ambulance – Loupgarou
2. Arco Flute Foundation – The Mean Egyptian
3. And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Richter Scale Madness (peel sessions)
4. Auburn Lull – Stockard Drive
5. Bellrays – Blues For Godzilla
6. Hem – Half An Acre
7. Biffy Clyro – 27
8. Paul O’Reilly – Birds Don’t Sing
9. Chameleons – Indiana
10. Our Lady Peace – Superman’s Dead
11. Dandy Warhols – Rooster
12. Seafood – Desert Stretched Before The Sun
13. Mudhoney – Make it Now Again
14. Polara – Is This It
15. Tami Hart – I Don’t Care
16. Six By Seven – Eat Junk Become Junk
17. Smashing Pumpkins – Zero
18. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Miles Away
19. Interpol – NYC

Scraps 42

1. Queens Of The Stone Age – No One Knows
2. A Flock Of Seagulls – I Ran
3. Dandy Warhols – Head
4. Sonic Youth – The Empty Page
5. Sloan – In The Mood
6. Menthol – Danger, Rock Science
7. Hot Snakes – Bye Nancy Boy
8. Smiths – How Soon Is Now
9. Mclusky – To Hell with Good Intentions
10. Nate Ruth – I Won’t Be Long
11. St. Thomas – Cornerman
12. White Stripes – Hand Springs
13. Tami Hart – I’m The Girl
14. Crystal Method – Renegades Of Funk
15. Tegan and Sara – I Hear Noises
16. Thirdimension – Other Side of Town
17. Tyondai Braxton – Raise Yr Arms & Cross Them
18. Turn-Ons – Love Ruined Us
19. Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter
20. Joseph Kilna MacKenzie – Sgt. MacKenzie

Scraps 43

1. Cave In – Big Riff
2. Dandy Warhols – Lance
3. Emm Gryner – Wisdom Bus
4. Everybody Uh Oh – Champaign’s Too Bright
5. Guided By Voices – Teenage FBI
6. Hot Snakes – Paid in Cigarettes
7. Interpol – PDA
8. Jack Johnson & Ben Harper – Flake
9. John Fogerty – The Old Man Down The Road
10. Low – In Metal
11. Muse – House Of The Rising Sun
12. Nirvana – You Know You’re Right
13. Primal Scream – Loaded
14. Queens Of The Stone Age – You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire
15. Sam Roberts – Brother Down
16. Sonic Youth – Disconnection Notice
17. Sundays – Wild Horses
18. White Stripes – Jolene

Scraps 44

1. Mike Watt – Against The 70’S
2. Audioslave – Cochise
3. Bronx – False Alarm
4. Cave In – New Moon
5. Coldplay – 1.36
6. Emm Gryner – Serenade
7. Homunculus – Here and There
8. Jimmy Eat World – Firestarter
9. Johnny Cash – Hurt
10. Matt Pond PA – Fairlee
11. Max Nasty Private Dick – Every Part of Nothing
12. Missy Elliott – Work It
13. Mudhoney – Between Me & You Kid
14. Norah Jones – Come Away With Me
15. Oneida – Each One Teach One
16. Pattern – She’s A Libra
17. Pixies – No. 13 Baby
18. Plus-Tech Squeeze Box – Early Riser
19. Primal Scream – Deep Hit Of Morning Sun
20. Slowreader – Every Part of Nothing
21. Yume Bitsu – Sharp, Twisted

Scraps 45

1. Eminem – White America
2. Crispy Ambulance – Re-Animator
3. Centaur – Thimbles
4. Coldplay – Ran Away
5. Emm Gryner – Straight To Hell
6. Electric Soft Parade – Holes In The Wall
7. Jann Arden – Will You Remember Me
8. Violent Femmes – American Music
9. Johnny Cash – Personal Jesus
10. Oma Yang – No Backdoor To Heaven, Just A Front Door To Hell
11. Spencer Davis Group – Gimme Some Lovin’
12. Pattern – Fragile Awareness
13. Primal Scream – Shull X
14. Sex Pistols – Anarchy In The UK
15. Yume Bitsu – The Frigid, Frigid, Frigid Body of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg

Scraps 36

1. Constantines – Hyacinth Blues
2. Screaming Trees – Where The Twain Shall Meet
3. Dandy Warhols – CCR
4. Earth – Divine and Bright
5. 20 Minute Loop – Jubilation
6. Elbow – Stumble
7. Bob Mould – Doubleface
8. Hayseed Dixie – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
9. Martin Tielli – The Bridge
10. Exit – Lonely Man’s Wallet
11. Super Furry Animals – Wherever I Lay My Phone
12. New Wet Kojak – Sophia Loren
13. Oceansize – Catalyst
14. Midtown – Susanne
15. Go Back Snowball – Radical Girl
16. Staind – Outside
17. Steve Earle – Breed
18. Vue – Child For You
19. Skiptrace – Don’t Support The Band
20. Pixies – Silver
21. Tugboat Annie – More

Scraps 37

1. Andrew WK – She Is Beautiful
2. Bob Mould – Come On Strong
3. 54-40 – Baby Ran
4. Ben Harper – Strawberry Fields Forever
5. Charlatans UK – Sproston Green
6. Bonnie Prince Billy – Song For The New Breed
7. Limp – Atom Bomb
8. Ruby Blue – Stand Together
9. Buffalo Tom – Enemy
10. Pretty Girls Make Graves – Speakers Push The Air
11. Dandy Warhols – Country Leaver (sounds eclectic mix)
12. Mountain Goats – Going to Port Washington
13. Sleater-Kinney – Maraca
14. Eddie Vedder – You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
15. High – Take Your Time
16. Keith Welsh – Baby Blue Blanket
17. Smashing Pumpkins – Purr Snickety
18. Oceansize – Size Of An Ocean
19. Rheostatics – Satan Is The Whistler
20. Heather Nova – We Can Work It Out
21. Constantines – Hyacinth

Scraps 38

1. Danko Jones – Samuel Sin
2. 54-40 – Radio Luv Song
3. Fugazi – Life and Limb
4. Joe Satriani – Friends
5. Catheters – I Fall Easy
6. Royal City – Bad Luck
7. Cato Salsa Experience – So, The Circus Is Back In Town
8. Smashing Pumpkins – Bullet With Butterfly Wings
9. Gerbils – A Song of Love
10. Jeff Buckley – Satisfied Mind
11. Manic Street Preachers – Found That Soul
12. Long Winters – Scent of Lime
13. Morel – Cabaret Part 2
14. Pixies – Oh My Golly
15. Ryan Adams – Nobody Girl
16. REM – Pop Song 89
17. Sick Anchors – Whole Again
18. Tricky Woo – Ring Sweet Mercy
19. Mansun – Chad Who Loved Me

Scraps 39

1. Danko Jones – My Love Is Bold
2. Andrew WK – I Get Wet
3. Joe Satriani – Rubina’s Blue Sky Happiness
4. Manic Street Preachers – So Why So Sad
5. Tragically Hip – Ahead By A Century
6. Morel – Over
7. Pixies – River Euphrates
8. Royal City – Under A Hollow Tree
9. REM – Draggin The Line
10. Mansun – Taxloss
11. Ryan Adams – Touch, Feel & Lose
12. Rye Coalition – One Daughter Hotter Than One Thousand Suns
13. Steve Earle – Tom Dooley
14. Jeff Buckley – Yard of Blonde Girls
15. Dandy Warhols – Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
16. Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Scraps 40

1. Eminem – Without Me
2. Sideways – Oblivion
3. And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Baudelaire (peel sessions)
4. Dandy Warhols – Hey Check Hey
5. Dirty Vegas – Days Go By [radio edit]
6. REM – You Are The Everything
7. Jason Loewenstein – Casserole
8. INK – Haptics-Geometrics
9. Kiss – Getaway
10. Maquiladora – Ritual Of Hearts
11. Led Zeppelin – In The Evening
12. Parlour – The Living Beginning
13. Our Lady Peace – Clumsy
14. Saloon – Le Weekend
15. Ryan Adams – Rosalie Come And Go
16. Aberdeen – Sink or Float
17. Smashing Pumpkins – Muzzle

Another package arrived late last week, containing the following goodies: Schindler’s List on DVD, On Avery Island by Neutral Milk Hotel and Final Straw by Snow Patrol. Snow Patrol, incidentally, plays Lee’s Palace later this month.

The lyrics quoted above (from the beloved Rheostatics song “Jesus Was Once A Teenager Too”) have new relevance to me, now that I’ve finished reading Lamb by Christopher Moore. I bought it ages ago then left it on a shelf; after much prodding by my friend Jenn, I gave it a go. It took me a while to get through (all books do; I get sidetracked too easily by my news/information junkie-dom…I feel the need to read the entire Globe and Mail, several websites, dozens of news feeds, a handful of email newsletters and at least part of one magazine every day) but it picked up nicely about 1/3 of the way through. It’s funny and, depending on your religious fervour, slightly blasphemous…both big pluses for me. On the downside, I won’t be able to watch The Passion Of The Christ now, because I’ll be expecting to hear Jesus say, “Look, a seagull!” in Aramaic…

Next up: A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius. Someone gave this to me a long time ago, but it became the book du jour, so I didn’t want to suffer the Lord Of The Rings (see also: Oprah-book-club) syndrome of being the umpteenth person on any given subway car reading the same book.

Remind me never to go near the Andes. Having read Alive and watched the movie, and after watching Touching The Void yesterday, I’m convinced that any trip into the Andes will result in me dying/eating someone/falling from a cliff/enduring horrible pain/hearing Boney M in my head. Et cetera.

The movie was an odd mix of documentary and filmed re-creation, but it helps give you context, especially well into the ordeal when things start to go a little wonky.