Supermallet

At midnight on Thursday, Beyonce dropped a new album (with videos for each song) on iTunes and wrote "Surprise!" on instagram. The album is breaking iTunes sales records (perhaps because iTunes is currently the only venue to legally obtain the album), and a ton of ink has already been spilled on what this could mean for the music industry. There was no hype, no indication the album was coming, nothing.

Has anyone heard it yet? I'm surprised there's not any conversation about it here.

bunkaroo

Wasn't Nine Inch Nails' The Slip pretty much the same deal? Only not iTunes exclusive. Of course that was one where you could get it for free. But still, there was also no hype leading up to it.

Supermallet

Yes, but Trent Reznor, while obviously well known, isn't a pop superstar.

bunkaroo

I wonder though if a pop superstar like her would even try something like this without first seeing someone like Reznor doing it successfully.

Supermallet

Possibly. But it's going to have a much bigger impact when Beyonce does it. It's currently had over 800,000 sales on iTunes.

Supermallet

I'm watching the videos now. It's an odd mix. Some of them are the typical "sexy girl is sexy" videos, some of them seem to have a more social message, and others are artsy. The songs are, in general, good. "Pretty Hurts" and "Blow" are the standouts to me so far.

Supermallet

"Flawless" is exceptional. Best song and video on the album. Check that one out, even if you're not otherwise a Beyonce fan.

Decker

That is kind of amazing for a pop superstar, actually. Good for her! Too bad it's iTunes only -- I loathe that service.

Supermallet

Yeah, I actually tweeted her to ask if and when it would be available from other services, because I'm not buying music through iTunes.

The Black

No surprise that it sucks though.

(Just kidding, I have no desire to ever give this music a spin, so I can't really judge)

stvn1974

This thread made me put on my copy of Radiohead's In Rainbows which I paid $1 for because I got to name my price.

bunkaroo

So Target is saying they won't carry the CD since it's been made available digitally first, whereas Walmart will carry the CD as soon as the end of the week.

Target should still carry the CD IMO. Sure they missed out on the big release day sales bump, but I would think you want to carry a popular album if your biggest competitor is carrying it.

Supermallet

Sounds like Target is trying to intimidate artists into releasing a physical product on the same day (or before) a digital one. Stupid, stupid.

My Other Self

Since they're not DRM protected I'm not understanding the logic.

Especially since Supermallet already sports an iPhone 5S.

If you have an iPhone are you going to listen to music on some other device? Just curious.

Supermallet

1. It's 256kb, CBR, and I prefer VBR.

2. iTunes is the shittiest major computer program in the history of ever, and I do not want to reward Apple for their shoddy work by buying music through the service.

3. The album has been "mastered for iTunes". I would like the recordings that are mastered for regular consumption.

I should clarify that mastered for iTunes is good in theory, as it can lead to better sounding recordings, but most of the time it leads to songs that sound like crap, and I don't want to spend $15 or whatever to discover that this album also sounds like crap.

Matt925

So Walmart will kill target in sales of this album, at a time when retailers are doing whatever it takes to undercut each other to steal sales. Target may be able to bully small time artists, who wouldn't have much of a chance at getting a spot on targets shelf to begin with, but any artist who could make a #1 record wouldn't bat an eye.

Sounds like target is barking up the wrong tree here.

cdollaz

Also, Target has had situations where they had an exclusive on carrying an artist's album (Pearl Jam and Prince come to mind), so it's not like they are carrying the torch when it comes to distribution equality.

Obi-Wanma

They probably figure nobody buys music at retail apart from the first week bump anyway, so if they don't get that bump due to it already selling a shit ton at iTunes, what's the point in carrying it? I think they have a point.

bunkaroo

On an average CD at another time of year I'd agree, but on a Beyonce CD a week before Christmas, I think they're going to miss out on a lot of sales for people who want to give a physical CD as a gift.

Obi-Wanma

Didn't think about that. You're probably right.

Decker

Okay, am I just being dense or is there really no way to watch the Beyoncé album as an uninterrupted album on an iPad? I see the songs as individual music videos in alphabetical order, but no way to play them in sequence.

Greeco

Is it any good? She's getting a little old to be frolicking around the stage in short frocks.

Supermallet

There are some good songs in the first half, but the second half (everything after the song "Rocket") is consistently excellent, IMO.

GuessWho

32 is ancient, huh?

Throwing Copper

it's a pretty good album. none of her records are ever special enough for me to listen for more than a few weeks though