imsjry Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I now like Jack White more than ever.... We've received about 234 e-mails regarding the sorta-leak of the White Stripes' Icky Thump that happened last night--yesterday, a Chicago DJ named Electra played the record in its entirety, and some enterprising soul with a really crummy signal decided to tape it off of his radio and turn it into MP3s. (We've listened to them, and trust us: The songs are good, but unless you really, really want to get vaguely nauseated by the bottom-of-the-barrel fidelity of the files, you're best off passing on the Sendspace links.) Anyway, word of Icky Thump's escape from pre-release embargoland reached Jack White--who was all the way in Spain--pretty quickly, and instead of sending the Web Sheriff after Electra, he rang up the station. She recounted the tale on her blog: At 4pm today, Jack White called Q101's main offices from Spain, where they're touring, looking specifically for me, to yell at ME for leaking the album and, in part, being "messed up for the entire (music) business." (Edit - I listened to the call again today, and I apologize for initially misquoting Jack.) I felt like I was going to throw up. Weirdest, most surreal conversation of my life. Jack asked me to take responsibility for leaking the record, and asked if I was sorry for what I'd done. S&T both jumped into the call - I was clearly flustered - and backed me 100%. We tried to explain where we were coming from - someone gave us a copy of a record that we were really excited to play, and the whole experience was an hour-long lovefest for him and his band - but he wasn't having it. He hung up, very, very angry, and I thought I was going to cry. Instead, I drank some beers that the Fix had left in the studio. Room temperature Bud Light. Delicious. After speaking to Jack's manager and getting their side of the story, Spike and I went on the air with S&T to open up the situation to the listeners. We respected Jack's desire not to be on the air and didn't re-air the call, but we talked about what was said and what happened. I'm extremely grateful to everyone who called in supporting us. I don't think I did anything wrong, and I don't think I am helping to ruin the music industry. I think I made people excited for the new White Stripes record. I know that was our intention. A noble explanation, and really, one that may have flown in the pre-download era. But now? Considering that the radio-to-radio-rip process is lightning-fast, "enthusiasm" like Electra's is rarely contained to a moment in time, or even a geographical area. And the fact that the songs sound like they're coming out of a tin can probably makes the circulated leak even more annoying for White, who gave his recording process a slight upgrade on this album. (Who knows? Maybe the crummy fidelity will make people want to buy the record--okay, okay, we're being naive.) So Does This Make Me A Pimp and a Prostitute Too? [electra: queen of snark, via Web Vomit] Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MrRain422 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I have to think that radio stations are going to need to stop doing stuff like this if they want to continue to get advances of records. I mean, it just seems logical. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 So, a radio station plays the advance CD they were sent, and that's bad, somehow? What. The. Fuck. If you don't want it played, don't send advance copies. Better yet, if you only want the single played, only send the single, not the whole album. This is not rocket science, folks. I know there are people who'll take White's side on this, but I'm not one of them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 It's not clear they got the copy of the album from the White Stripes - "someone gave us a copy of a record that we were really excited to play" doesn't exactly say "this was a sanctioned event" to me... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 It's not clear they got the copy of the album from the White Stripes - "someone gave us a copy of a record that we were really excited to play" doesn't exactly say "this was a sanctioned event" to me...OK, yeah, missed that part. Still, I doubt this "leak" will affect album sales, given the reportedly crappy quality of the rip that's circulating as a result of it. White needs to chill the fuck out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I feel good about this because I sat through twenty minutes of that crappy radio station the other day to hear one of the new songs, and spent two minutes awestruck at the awfulness of an "insider" email from them before unsubscribing. Thanks Jack. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MrRain422 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 So, a radio station plays the advance CD they were sent, and that's bad, somehow? What. The. Fuck. If you don't want it played, don't send advance copies. Better yet, if you only want the single played, only send the single, not the whole album. This is not rocket science, folks. I know there are people who'll take White's side on this, but I'm not one of them. I was under the impression that those advance copies are usually sent with some sort of official agreement in place that laid out what it was to be used for. I may be wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WilcoFan Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Really. This reminds me of how cool Wilco is and how uncool greedy artists are. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airtaco Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Time after time, Jack White's actions make me think he's just a huge ass. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sid Hartha Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I'm with Jack on this one. What a hosebag [Electra] to claim that you're doing him a favor by playing the leaked album. (Like the album would suffer otherwise.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MrRain422 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I don't think I can defend his tirade, but I don't blame him for being upset. Should he be happy that shitty quality rips are circulating? The guy put a lot of work into getting the album to sound a certain way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
willywoody Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I don't think I can defend his tirade, but I don't blame him for being upset. Should he be happy that shitty quality rips are circulating? The guy put a lot of work into getting the album to sound a certain way. it would beinteresting to know if the station has a webstream and if the album was played in its entirety on the stream? i believe that is actually against some laws as i learned from some research. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 it would beinteresting to know if the station has a webstream and if the album was played in its entirety on the stream? i believe that is actually against some laws as i learned from some research.It does and it was. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
willywoody Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 It does and it was. here's a paraphrase of the statute: "The DMCA statutory license has the following conditions: 1. Pay royalties. This obligation is discussed more fully below. 2. Sound recording performance complement. A webcaster may not play in any three-hour period... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jhh4321 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Really. This reminds me of how cool Wilco is and how uncool greedy artists are. yes Time after time, Jack White's actions make me think he's just a huge ass. and yes i dont see what the big deal is anyway, this album is definitely going to blow...i would be very surprised if it didn't Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MrRain422 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 What makes you so sure? Just curious. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jhh4321 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 What makes you so sure? Just curious. Well, this is all imo, naturally, but i thought GBMS was awful and all of this Raconteur nonsense was even worse, basically I haven't heard anything worth listening to from this guy since Elephant. I also heard the single (title track if i recall correctly) and was not impressed, but i know not to expect WS albums to sound anything like their lead singles. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nettles Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I think I lost a little respect for Jack white here, I can see not wanting a crappy sounding version of my new record being heard out there, but anyone with a half a brain that took the time download this shit knows it's not the greatest quality and are probably big enough fans that they'll buy the record anyhow, if for anything to just to see if there is sexy pics of Meg in the artwork. I can see a rep from the label calling in and flippin out, but Jack himself, to me it does make him sound like kind of an A-hole, be satisfied you get to make a living off of making music, you could still be in Detroit working to hard at some shitty job for not enough money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
petemoss Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I think I lost a little respect for Jack white here, I can see not wanting a crappy sounding version of my new record being heard out there, but anyone with a half a brain that took the time download this shit knows it's not the greatest quality and are probably big enough fans that they'll buy the record anyhow, if for anything to just to see if there is sexy pics of Meg in the artwork. I can see a rep from the label calling in and flippin out, but Jack himself, to me it does make him sound like kind of an A-hole, be satisfied you get to make a living off of making music, you could still be in Detroit working to hard at some shitty job for not enough money. Why?The dude is passionate about his music. I don't know about this cd, but take the white stripes last cd. It was recorded all with analog recording equipment. He goes out of his way to make high quality music that sounds the way he wants it to. If you made and produced a cd you were proud of, would you want people to hear it for the first time trhough a very low quality medium? of course not. If you were a movie director, would you want to unveil your latest film by showing it to the world with a video ipod? of course not.the dude is very passionate and proud of his music. any artist needs some kind of control over the way their work is presented.Good for you Jack. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nettles Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Somethings are beyond your control, I say, Jack White lighten the fuck up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WilcoFan Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Somethings are beyond your control, I say, Jack White lighten the fuck up. Maybe Meg should hook him up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
street spirit Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 In some ways I can see where Jack is coming from, because things have changed so much... But does anyone remember when artists were excited to hear their albums on the radio? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imsjry Posted June 1, 2007 Author Share Posted June 1, 2007 In some ways I can see where Jack is coming from, because things have changed so much... But does anyone remember when artists were excited to hear their albums on the radio? Don't you think if a band wanted an entire CD played on the radio, they would have gotton a bunch of money to do one of those Westwood One listening party type things?? He has every right to be upset about this. Q101 isn't exactly some pirate radio station Quote Link to post Share on other sites
willywoody Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 am i remembering wrongly or did wilco raise a fuss with leaked yhf songs and that's what's led to their streaming the songs for the past two albums? at least that way they could make sure the streams sounded up to snuff. maybe i'm wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WilcoFan Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 am i remembering wrongly or did wilco raise a fuss with leaked yhf songs and that's what's led to their streaming the songs for the past two albums? at least that way they could make sure the streams sounded up to snuff. maybe i'm wrong. You're right. I got some threatening emails from Tony M. himself about that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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