I meant to post this earlier, but over at www.BuffyUPN.com they've got some silly "vote" for the soundtrack. So just in case they haven't already figured out that a soundtrack is easy money, head on over and cast your vote.

And in the spirit of actually voting for something. Let's see if there's a favorite song among us. I'll do my best to divide them up into selections that make sense.

Edit: Grr ... there's not enough room. I did my best, but had to leave Sweet's songs off the list. Sorry if that's anyone's favorite.

das

Wherther or not a soundtrack would be "easy money" depends on how internet-savvy the general soundtrack-wanting population is. I wouldn't be buying the soundtrack CD because I HAVE the soundtack CD. I downloaded the MP3 files from Usenet and burned them to an audio CD using Nero. Total cost? 20 cents for the blank disk, and whatever handfull of pennies is represented in the fraction of my monthly connection charges by the couple of hours that it took to download everything.

The question is, what fraction of people who would WANT the soundtrack already HAVE the soundtrack?

Well, I'd want the masters of the songs instead of the audio rip of the episode complete with sound effects and episode editing. Sure, it's fun to listen to the mp3s (I've downloaded 3 different versions and was unsatisfied, so I cut my own), but I want to hear all of 'Where Do We Go From Here'. I want to hear them sing, "The curtains close on the kiss God knows that the end if finally here" or whatever is said that is muffled by the episode.

"Easy money" doesn't mean tons of money, but the tracks are already produced and all the songs are written by Buffy people, so licensing wouldn't be anything too difficult. They could cut some CDs and release them for a profit without too much effort. And if there's any material that didn't make it to the episode, an extended version of a song without the quick cut-offs in the episode, anything extra ... well, I'll be in line. I can download the DIVX rip, hell even a high quality SVCD of my favorite films but I still hit the stores every Tuesday morning to get the real thing.

But, hey, that's just me. Every CD ever sold in any store is on the Internet for the taking (usually before they're available in stores), but I still buy them, and recording artists still record them, and judging from the gold around their necks, there's still some profit there.

I would argue that the people who are going to bootleg a product likely don't represent the majority of those who will purchase it. The Napster trials showed this asmany artists were able to show how Napster improved their sales figures. Those who bootlegged from Napster were going to buy the product anyway, but the exposure of quality product to a larger audience drove sales higher.

das

das, you and I are in agreement...

I would also like a "studio" version of the soundtrack. The songs I downloaded off of usenet are fine in the meantime but I want it without the sound-effects and dialogue.

As far as downloading mp3 is concerned, I use it as a preview tool for music. I used to go to Borders and spend hours at their listening stations previewing music and bought what I liked. I do the same thing but by downloading the mp3s, what I like I go out and buy and what I don't I delete.

Just for myself, I always prefer to bought DVD over a free Divx, BUT, I always prefer a free MP3 over a bought CD. I can see major quality differences in video and in abscence of extras in Divx-vs-DVD, but to me there is no important difference in quality between an MP3 and a CD. And, for myself, I prefer music to be presented exactly like it was in the actual performance. I hate to get soundtracks from something and have it re-edited or, even worse, sang by someone else. So the MP3s are all that I'll want from BTM.

Oh, God no ... I don't want anything "re"-edited ... I want it "un"-edited. They sang all this in a studio then lip-synched the scenes and spliced up the audio. I want the original presentation just because it's better to listen to, especially the couple of songs that get cut short because of a rapid scene change. I would most definitely NOT buy if it contained some other idiot singing the songs. However, I do like the version of 'What Would Brian Boitano Do?' on the 'SP:BLU' soundtrack ... "and I'm gonna make dirty love to you, cuz that's what Brian Boitano'd do!"

das

I agree that for musicals in general, the studio masters are better than the on-film-mix with effects or cutaways, etc... Same would hold true here!

I voted for the book number! Go Anya! Down with breakout pop hits!

I voted for the Tara song myself - I think she had the best singing voice and the song had that extra layer - seeing it from her perspective and Willow's.

I loved the 'comedy' numbers also - the ' tight embrace' line comes to mind.

Do you mean:

You're the cutest of the Scoobies
with your lips as red as rubies
and your firm yet supple... tight embrace

Also one of my favorites. :-)

Can't forget:

Warm in the night when I'm right in your tight (looks at crotch) ... embrace, tight embraaaaace.

das