A Treatise of Existence

"take this down. dont boot shit."

The purpose of this blog is to give people access to out of print material. Yes, there are countless other blogs doing the same thing, but whereas most seem to just post files in any random bitrate from awful sounding USB turntables or tape decks connected via the line-in port on internal soundcards, I do my best to provide high quality rips to the best of my ability. I go through a lengthy cleaning process of all records before ripping them, and go through equally* lengthy post-processing to remove any stray ticks/pops without harming the sound quality. All CD rips are done via EAC with a 100% log, and then transcoded to V0 .mp3 (with FLAC available upon request).

Now, read the bold part of the first sentence again, if you will. Out of print. When a record is no longer in print that means the artist and label have sold all of their copies. Sometimes a record is repressed, sometimes it isn't. Represses eventually go out of print, perhaps being repressed yet again, most often not. At some point down the line the record becomes no longer available to the general public, and that is where torrent sites and blogs such as this benefit people (even if sometimes you're only getting a 128kbps transcoded .mp3).

The italic part of that paragraph: sold all of their copies. When all copies of a release have been sold, all potential money the artist and label can make off a record has been made. Therefore, no party involved in the creation of the record is losing money via these downloads.

While unfortunately I can't say the same for most blogs out there, the bold and italic phrases are my guidelines when posting things for download here.

Is the record out of print? Yes.
Am I taking any money away from the label or artist? No.
Why not? Because the record is out of print.

Is the record out of print? No.
Do I post it? No.
Why not? Because the record is in print and I would be taking away potential sales that benefit the artist and label.

If a record is indeed out of print but you are the artist or label who released it and want the link taken down for whatever reason (I wont ask you to clarify), I will quickly and happily do so as long as you state who you are. That being said, if you are someone who is simply against free downloading as a whole, regardless if no one except eBay profit-seekers and other record-flipper types are the ones benefiting from "sales", I will not remove the link.

There are some artists I've posted releases of here that I know are not fond of illegal downloading of their in print material. I agree with them 100%. In print material should not be leaked/shared for free unless the band gives the okay. I have talked to some of these people and let them know what I am doing with this blog and they have either given me a blatant "Yes, do it!" or have simply not taken up any issue.

So, with that being said, whichever anonymous person asked me to remove the download of AMPS FOR CHRIST - Every Eleven Seconds CD (which I promptly did), I'll have you know I am going to be reposting it shortly (probably right after I post this). Why? Because I asked Henry Barnes (aka AMPS FOR CHRIST) if it was he who asked it to be taken down, and this is what he had to say:

"Not me !!!! I like you posting AFC!!! Keep it up !! Cheers Henry"

So, then, unless you are the person behind 5 Rue Christine (a label which I thought was now defunct), I don't really see what right or obligation you have in telling me to remove something that wasn't yours (or mine) in the first place, especially when the artist has given me explicit permission. If you were somehow involved with the album and it turns out I'm just being an ass here, again, let me know who you are and I will remove it.

I am not a bootlegger out to make a profit. I am not Thomas Lenz**. I'm not publicly posting in print releases that may be taking away much needed sales from artists and labels. I am providing an archive of material that people often can't find through the normal channels for less than an arm and a leg (if at all), trying to put a bit of background information on the releases, as well as hopefully turning people on to new artists. Speaking from experience, downloading leads to sales. There have been countless occasions where someone has sent me a rip of a record or I downloaded it myself, having never really heard the band before, fallen in love with the record, and then sought it out and bought it. I know many people that do this. People legitimately into the music and punk/hardcore culture will buy the record (it also helps having the consumer/materialist culture that we do), anyone who doesn't isn't in it for the right reasons anyways, and is someone like that not buying your record really a great loss?

Just remember, everything here is out of print and no one is losing money.

Also remember to report any dead links, and I hope we can all continue to enjoy these releases.

*I no longer have my VPI HW16.5 cleaning machine. All records are cleaned with a dry brush. In the rare case a record is actually quite dirty, a solution of alcohol and distilled water is used with a cotton swab.

**Eric Wood may suggest otherwise, for reasons completely unrelated to this blog.