Per “rages” against pirates
Written by tevensso on June 6, 2003 to Music Business.
STOCKHOLM - In today’s edition of Swedish tabloid Expressen Per says “It’s stealing. Of course the writers, producers and musicians should get paid. It’s not good when people feel it’s OK to download without paying. It’s not good when an entire generation takes it for granted that music is for free.”
As we speak seven of the songs, although snippets, are available on the usual downloading sites. “I’m definitely glad that the entire album isn’t out yet. I see that many people on [The] Daily Roxette site are looking for it, but no one has found it. At least to my knowledge,” Per says to Expressen.
- Expressen’s article (In Swedish)
Other articles with the same topic
- Billboard mentions Roxette (February 26, 2011)
- Citigroup takes control of EMI (February 1, 2011)
- Kobalt signs Roxette in North America (January 13, 2011)
- Record "The Look" and win $5,000 shopping spree (August 11, 2010)
- EMI Music triples full-year earnings (May 8, 2009)
45 comments
Roxeanne said on June 6, 2003 09:13:
it’s definitely stealing and i actually wouldn’t be too glad if the internet meant the end of cd-shops.
still i have to say that cds, at least concerning germany, usa and hungry, are WAY to expensive!!!!
can’t there be some way in between??
Stormkeeper said on June 6, 2003 09:24:
People download the Internet and buy pirate copies because CD‘s are damn expensive.
Record-companies should take a look at the mirror. Hope they learn the lesson.
Download only big stars as MJ, U2, Robbie Williams and Madonna! :DD
Support Roxette :p
Storm
Mari said on June 6, 2003 10:32:
Yeah Stormkeeper. Cars are also very expensive, so I have to right steal a car?
SerLim said on June 6, 2003 10:41:
In Moscow we have a huge shop full of piracy stuff including CDs, DVDs, VHS and mp3. The piracy CD costs approximately $3. Salary of a young person in Moscow can easily be less then $300. So...
As for me I let myself buy only Roxette&related on original CDs. What about others? ...
Dmitry said on June 6, 2003 11:11:
SerLim: sometimes i do let myself buy Roxette pirate-recorded cos here in Perm we have very little original Roxette on sale
llounge said on June 6, 2003 11:17:
I think this snippets versions are positiv promotion for the album. So Per, don‘t be angry, I think much more will buy the album, after listen the few songs. And I also think, the really Roxette Fans buy the Album 100% (me, too!).
Ronney said on June 6, 2003 13:03:
I’ll buy what I love, but downloading gives me the opportunity to listen to more music than the radio offers me. So I don’t spent less money because of kAZAA, I spent more!
StillFar said on June 6, 2003 13:16:
I must be mistaken remembering an interview with Per during Napster times, in which he said that he supports file sharing...it gives users the possibility to hear music you usually don’t have access to...or something like that...
I guess he must have spotted another Ferrari he likes to change his mind ;)
Junkie said on June 6, 2003 14:11:
Just today I’ve got original HAND with 3 spanish tracks. Long ago in 1999 when I was still in school I got pirated HAND. Now I will give it to my friend for free, who likes Roxette, but can effort himself even a pirate CD, and I will have an original one.
Beeing a fan, I think, also means supporting your idol. That’s what we can do by buying their original CDs and DVD...
Anyways, if you live somewhere in Siberia, and you have an access to the Net, you can use www.ozon.ru or even www.amazon.co.uk to order original CDs. And you don’t even need to have a credit card, you can by by postal transfer.
Ilia
St.-Petersurg
Jud (moderator) said on June 6, 2003 14:34:
@StillFar: “people change I know it, it’s a most natural thing, and if you wanna show it, you don’t owe me anything..” somebody sang :)
In any case, I think Per doesn’t or shouldn’t really mind about these snippets, they can also be heard through EMI website http://www.emi.se/artists/gessle/juke
So I guess Expressen screwed up his words again and he was just refering to the FULL album ...
These snippets are only heard by fans, who will buy the album anyway - there are already over 200 pre-orders at the fanclub! :)
StillFar said on June 6, 2003 14:51:
Good one Jude...if he only knew that this phrase would come in handy one day...
Booho said on June 6, 2003 15:54:
Well, yes, it’s stealing. And downloading a whole album is even worse, I never have done that and never will do, because an album is not just a collection of music, it’s an artwork.
I am not against downloading singular songs, especially singles, because a single exists to promote an album, so why shouldn’t it be downloaded. Radio stations play singles as well. Radio stations NOWADAYS don’t give a shit about what people want to hear, they just play what the commercials-partners want them to play in order to let the people keep the radio on. That’s why radio stations don’t make huge experiments, in order not to lose listeners. And that’s why they just have about 100 or 200 different songs in their stupid and boring playlists.
That’s why most people can’t get to know new - and especially different - stuff. That’s why they HAVE to download it.
If they wouldn’t, unknown artists wouldn’t even have a chance to get heard, because radios won’t play them.
That’s my opinion, and dear Per, I love you, I always buy your albums :-) And no, I didn’t download HKAKPEOSG yet.
Another thing about “stealing” maybe:
Recorded music is a multipliable product. A product that can be multiplied by eternal amounts can’t be “stolen”, since the owner doesn’t lose anything, and the downloader wouldn’t be able to buy it anyway. At least that’s my philosophy, and I am a songwriter too, and I want to sell records as well one day, so I am not only user, but also creator.
The loss of sold records is -IMHO- not because of the download-trend, but because THE RECORDS ARE WAY TOO EXPENSIVE. If I want to buy - let’s say - 2 albums and 4 maxi-CDs within one month, it would cost me between 50 and 70 Euro - nowadays for this amount I could fly all around europe plus have a 15 hours phonecall to Australia. Who would do that!?
If telephone and flying got so damn cheap, why can’t music? Music is one of the most important things in life. Musically seen I feel like a starving child in africa with these expensive CDs.... cheers.
harriej said on June 6, 2003 21:17:
I will always buy the Roxette-albums, because I want to have the original.
I must admit that I don’t do that for all bands, but Roxette is the best, so I buy the CD’s and don’t download it.
Stormkeeper said on June 6, 2003 22:01:
very very well said about radio-stations play-lists, Booho.
But then again, flying and phone calls cheap??!
huh!
cheers
Storm
s-czopek said on June 6, 2003 22:23:
People (and especially record companies) are strange.
I can understand why Per is getting upset about hearing a large portion of his new album is already on the net.
But on the other hand I’m positive that over 90% of those who downloaded the tracks will definetely BUY the album when it’s out.
So don’t worry Per, you WILL get paid !
What really rages me are those awful copy protected cds who punish precisely those who bought the cds.
bobi said on June 7, 2003 00:22:
Dear Per,
I completely agree with you, people should not steal your music. But something needs to be done about cd prices and distribution. I would love to but The Power Hits but there is just no way that I can justify 50$ cdn for the imported double cd, especially when I bought all the music before. I have replaced my look sharp and joyride cassettes for the cds, I own 2 tourism cds and all the others available here in Canada. And now, to get those 7 new songs i need to separate from a lot of money.
Fans should not be expected to shell out that kind of money.
I think most people downloading Roxette music are fans who cannot get the cds. I was happy buying TBH and receiving the bonus cd for the price of 22 CDN and I would do the same with your english solo album and TPH.
just my thoughts
cheers,
Bobi
Mfan28179-Jason said on June 7, 2003 06:15:
I think one of the major issues here is distribution. There are numerous Roxette/Per/Marie/etc. fans that are not able to buy their records because EMI does a sh*tty job at distributing their music. Look at the post I replied to the other day...A Canadian Roxette fan was trying to get a copy of ’The Pop Hits’ Limited Edition with EP but could not find it anywhere in his/her area. Because EMI Canada did NOT include the EP like they did with ’The Ballad Hits,’ this fan is forced to pay a rediculously high price OR download the EP songs for FREE from the Internet. And this is exactly what irritates me most. There are many cases where fans *would* buy the music yet can’t because it’s not available. What do they turn to? Free downloading from the Internet. Sometimes fans don’t have a choice. There’s a ton of material on WinMx and Kazaa that I would happily buy but it’s either out of print or not available for purchase in my area.
Oh yeah, and I remember a quote from Per about Napster a while back: “Napster is brilliant” - assuming either of these articles are true.
At any rate, I do think piracy has become a problem even with material that is readily available. In the USA, record companies killed the singles market and people resorted to downloading. Unless they can revive the market or provide an alternative for online downloading, there may be little hope.
gyllene_tjej said on June 7, 2003 08:31:
I resisted the temptation to download the songs´and I’m proud of myself. I prebooked the CD already, yummy! :)
Liesebieke said on June 7, 2003 15:10:
Per, if you read this:
Don’t worry! I won’t download the available tracks. I’m still a bit old-fashioned and want to do like in the old days: I just want to wait for the release of the CD and put it in my player. Just like I did with the Roxette Cd’s, since there was no internet for me at those days. I think it will be worth waiting for the CD!
Take care and see you on Tuesday! I hope we will be able to small talk, even if it were for only one minute!
love always
A Belgian in Sweden
AntiMario said on June 7, 2003 16:49:
I have heard from many people who evaluated the snippets (even before they were out over internet) only one phrase “Wow, sh..t! Now I want to buy this album even more!!”. And they definetly will. Yep, CDs here in Russia are damn expensive compared to salaries, that’s sad but true fact. But piracy here hardly issues solo albums (especially in Swedish).
SerLim said on June 7, 2003 21:06:
All of us know that Per is much reacher than most of his fans. Per knows it better than anyone else.
That is why he rages against PIRATES but not fans who buy or download his music. That is the war between record-monsters and pirates, but not musicians and listeners.
SerLim said on June 8, 2003 13:26:
Such words should be authorized.
Let’s fix some ideas to avoid misunderstanding.
They’re extremely laconic and exact.
Everyone should agree or disagree but not say “...mmm...maybe”
1. Musicians, producers, authors and others get too much money for their job.
2. Nobody physically makes us pay them. We do this consciously when we buy original CDs.
3. Russian president Mr. Putin won election with approx. 55% though nobody knew him six monthes before. What made russian people give him their votes?
4. We can’t distinguish the difference between the music made by pop-idols (mentioned above) and by nonprofessional guy from next door.
5. Advertising and PR-technologies determines almost everything in the world. From TV-show we watch to our sexual preferences.
6. Once a song appeared (on CD or mp3) it can be shared worldwide despite all kinds of protection.
7. The only natural low is progress based on self-regulation.
Jud (moderator) said on June 9, 2003 11:07:
Iker: there are some websites where you can get it from, asking a friend may also work ;)
Santi said on June 9, 2003 14:40:
Getting promotional snippets is stealing... ok, then we also should pay for listening to the radio, cuz if I listen to the radio and I record something I’m becoming a “criminal” too, since I didn’t pay for it... Per, you never recorded a tape from the radio, right?...
C’mon, you even used Napster...
Sorry, but I don’t agree in this one... I just wonder how many people is gonna buy your CD if they don’t hear any song...
Jud (moderator) said on June 9, 2003 17:51:
Santi: the radio stations DO pay for each song they play.. and they pay that so they can bring the song to their listeners...
SerLim said on June 9, 2003 19:41:
You will laugh but Russian producers pay radiostation for rotation of their singers.
Santi said on June 9, 2003 20:16:
But I’m not allowed to record it, and that is what I meant. Cuz if I record it then I’m keeping it, and that’s not what they pay. They pay the broadcast, not that I can record it and not going to buy the single.
By the way, did you realise. He just said he reads often Smalltalk... for those who wondered:
“I see that many people on [The] Daily Roxette site are looking for it, but no one has found it. At least to my knowledge”
ixtlaner said on June 9, 2003 20:56:
Per, sweetheart, we fans will buy it, don’t you worry about that, even if eventually we end up paying twice as much by, e.g. sending money via Western Union to Sweden cos we own no credit cards... Cos our darling EMI changed its licensee here, and now: ta-ta official CD-ordering....
Otherwise you’re right, I woldn’t like it too if I were you. This world is anything but fair!!
But then again,... don’t you think some musicians get far too much money anyways? Compared to common people, that is. And the record companies, they get even more, and are never satisfied!! Do you think if ppl could ****easily find**** their favourite music in stores, cheap enough, they’d bother with d/l-ding, not getting the booklets with pix and lyrix? Nah, there must be something here, think, EMI, think! The answer can’t be that far away! >;ppp
Jud (moderator) said on June 6, 2003 08:21:
ha! Thumbs up Thomas for hidding the links :P