If you want to hear the new album "Siege" first, pre-order before it closes within the week - you will have the disc shipped to you first...next few weeks!

www.octofoil-records.com/releases.htm

I read a recent tribal bellydance tribe post regarding MP3s and Amar had some great points about sound quality that I want to second, but I also want to add a few thoughts about digital downloads.

Sound quality and mastering are paramount if you are truly into a particular artist or release. But when you are interested in buying an album - you have to look at it like a new movie - do you shell out the cash for the full experience or is it a rental? I admit I download quite a lot of mp3s, but for something I'm passionate about, or something that deserves the full experience - I always buy the CD. It's the full experience, like popcorn with a film, you get the liner notes, the artwork, etc.

Purchasing the CD means you get the full quality of music, you put money in the artists hand (whereas an mp3 download doesn't really pay the artist anything), and the CD means you get the full experience - the entire body of tracks from beginning to end with graphics, liner notes, etc. The problem with iTunes and other download services is that you can pick and choose particular tracks based on a 30 second sample which doesn't really capture the essence of either a song or an album. When I release an album, it's an entire body of work, it's a project and often thematic - downloading just a few mp3s from this body of work is equivalent to someone walking away from your dance set half way through because they only liked your first piece - they are missing the full experience. If you go for the rental, or if the product is only available on mp3, download the full album (its an artistic endeavor, not a buffet item).

I often get questions about when my next release will be on iTunes.. while I''m always ready to field that question I don't believe the person often understands what the mp3 means. It means that person is ok with a lesser quality version of my song. They often do not think that this does virtually nothing to pay/support the artist who spent months working on their art. So it's not just about the sound quality (which is most important) but it's also about supporting the artist, and their product as a whole. People are no longer always buying the full album and thus the concept of the album - and even the record label - are constantly being redefined. In the end consider the sound quality, the totality of the product, and supporting the artist - it's worth the extra $5. My 2.5 cents....