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I was lately baffled by how much KUSC station in LA is involved in promoting downloads of classical music. In their fundrising drive, they offered a sweepstake of 10 GB ipod loaded with 40 hours of classical music (courtesy of iTunes, I guess). Today again they said that that the ways of classical music are changing. As record stores close, many orchestras (LSO was cited as an example) switch to offering their recordings as downloads. So to give listeners a taste of this brave new world of classical music, they offered a free download of Fidelio overture by LSO to potential donors. Meanwhile, I've never heard of them mentioning that there is such a thing in classical music as multichannel SACD.The donkey ears of iTunes/Mac stick out of this stuff. It is clear to whom KUSC is prostituting itself when playing these lightly disguised commercials. The trouble is that chickenheads don't understand that iTunes is their doom.
I believe that all iTunes effort in classical music is a waste of their time and money.
Follow Ups:
I am sure KUSC does not play any big bands, do they?Do they download WCPE (from North Carolina) online in Southern California to hear recordings from the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra at Disney Hall? - Not to mention they have listeners already who live in both Los Angeles and San Diego in Southern California, and also San Francisco, Phoenix, Houston, Seattle and New York City, Washington D.C metro area, but also New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Orlando and West Palm Beach??? - I cannot figure this out.
My baby seems to fall asleep to Mozart string quartets, of which I have 2. I spent some time on iTunes this weekend (my wife's ipod) trying to find any others. They have some listed, but when I went to buy them I got the message "not available for download in the U.S." What? So I tried another selection by a different quartet, same result. I could by the entire Berg Quartet recordings for $50, but couldn't get a smaller selection for $10. I can download 3 of the 4 movements of certain quartets at $0.99 each, but if I want the whole thing I have to buy the $50 set. I am not going to buy these things as downloads. I like to have my grubby hands on the cd's or vinyl and know that I've got them forever in the original recorded format, not just some compressed version. I'm not a luddite, I listen to the Ipod on occasion and am toying with the idea of a digital music server as an additional convenience, but as a classical music listener, downloads are not the way I choose to purchase music.I actually missed Tower Records this weekend. All I wanted was to go and by some new music and listen to it. Now I have to order, ship, wait...but that's the penalty for being in a niche market these days. If I wanted the latest Christina Aguillera, or White Stripes I'm covered; iTunes, WalMart, Target, Barnes & Noble etc. But because I want The Mozart String Quartet #21 or #22 my options are limited. I hope at least I have the order, ship, wait option in the future, but I have my fears and doubts.
And before anyone asks, yes I spent a fortune at Tower in years past at full retail. But when they decided that the only classical worth stocking was Bippity Boppity Bach and The Most Relaxing Classical Music Ever Recorded, and anything with Bernstein conducting, that's when I started buying used, on-line, etc.
p.s. If anyone has any recs. for the later Mozart quartets I'd appreciate them--I've heard "The Hunt" and "Dissonance" so many times I'm about to fling that disc out the window. She doesn't seem to like Haydn or Beethoven...yet.
I live with a few blocks of a former Tower Record store and really appreciated being able to imediately go and find something you were interested in and would usually find it there. I still found a decent selection and great advice at there S.F.classical annex even to the end. What a loss. I do buy some on line now but it usually takes at least 10 days to get something delivered.
I am trying not to miss any new recording of Sibelius 2, and there was one by Andreas Delfs and Milwaukee orchestra available only on iTunes. I overcame my disgust and tried to purchase it. The message was it is currently not available. I tried several times in a course of a couple of months, and it was still not available. I then used their invitation to submit a review. I wrote that I am sure this pefrormance is a new and interesting insight into the work, and that I wish I could write more, but - alas - could not download. The review was posted, and then in a couple of weeks somebody took note, and the download was fixed. For my $8, I've got a felt tip marked CD-R with no booklet, looking as a pirated copy. Luckily, one of my 2 players can play it.
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