#689: “F*** iTunes” [VIDEO BLOG]

GETTING MORE TALE #689: “F*** iTunes”

 

Once again, here is something that came about due to a conversation with Superdekes over at Arena Rock.  In his review for Bon Jovi’s iTunes exclusive live album Inside Out, Deke said:

Inside Out is an iTunes only live release, which is kinda cool in a way to make guys like Ladano scoff at the no physical product tag! 

He’s right and I scoffed right away.

In jest, I made this video below.  I like to call it “Fuck iTunes”.  Everything is meant in good fun.  Enjoy the video.

 

132 comments

  2. Totally agree with not paying a massive company for effectively nothing. If I buy an album, I want an album, not something of nothing floating in the ether.

    I’ve got no problem with Apple, as such, and iTunes is handy in my house, but nothing beats slapping a CD or if this were back in the day, a tape in the player to get you to where you’re going. Also, to add to the first bit, I’m not going to pay them for nothing. I’m typing on an iPhone right now, but I gave them money and they gave me a physical product.

    I’ll stop now as I’m starting to sound like my grumpy old uncle did when we used to chat together and I would smirk at his views thirty years ago!

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    1. I think I sound like the grumpy uncle now!

      Of course a lot of this is in jest, but I will say this: I bought a new desktop PC over a year ago, and I still have not installed iTunes on it.

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  3. I love the physical form, but I also love Apple Musoc. My kids just assume stream music rather than a physical form except if it is a favorite album and the. I get it for them on vinyl. So it saves me lots of money!! I also love my Mac like Aaron. So I agree with you on most your points, but disagree on some as well. But still nothing bette than actually holding the vinyl or CD and the cover art in your hand. Having a tangible product is still the best.

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  5. But you bought the two iTunes exclusive Hollywood Vampires bonus tracks. So collectors impulse trumps principles sometimes.

    Anyway, your iTunes account should save your purchases, so if a hard disc crashes then you can just log into your account when you get a replacement and re-download them all

    By the way, I wrote this on a Mac. Have I tainted your blog?

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    1. HAHAH Harrison…your attention to detail is admirable!

      Obviously it’s a far more complex issue than the way I portrayed it here, but I was going for laughs too. Yes I do buy iTunes bonus tracks. However I have noticed that Japan generally gets them on CD, a good portion of the time.

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        1. I get paranoid, like the old man I am, that Apple will screw up my account and then make my purchases disappear, thus losing my collection.
          I think that the artists I collect wouldn’t really release anything too important as a digital-only, so I’ve never bothered. Let’s face it, Jimmy Page may find YET ANOTHER jammed version of Rock and Roll, but I’ve got so many bootlegs that it really isn’t essential to pay for a digital “exclusive” which has Stu’s piano a little bit louder at the end.
          So (back to the original thing) Jonny BJ will have to release his new live thing physically for me to ever part with cash for it.

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        2. Oh I have no doubt that Jimmy will “find” more Zeppelin to release. Don’t forget that recent Record Store Day single. Two unreleased versions….

          As for JBJ, would you have bought the album had it come out on CD? I don’t think I would have.

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        3. No,I wouldn’t have bought it straight away unless it only cost a couple of quid. I think Bon Jovi live is best experienced live and not on CD. One Wild Night only got One Wild Play after all. Does the new one have their dreadful extended Sleep When I’m Dead on it? If so, I can’t stomach hearing that on CD and neither can I can stand hearing them do Shout again.

          Yeah, Zep single looked great, but I didn’t have the money or the time for Record Store Day stuff. I think the whole day has become co-opted by the Hipsters and has gone a bit too OTT in looking for “special” shit to release.

          I sound like a grumpy old man again…

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  6. Greetings, LeBrain! Great rant this rainy morning where I’m at here in suburban Detroit. I love my physical product, still buying CDs nearly every week. Typing this post on an iPhone 8, while my 2017 MacBook Pro (with necessary additional-cost CD drive) whirs away in my spare bedroom, importing yesterday’s CD purchase (The Cure “Mixed Up” 3-CD 2018 Deluxe Reissue) into iTunes for importing into my dedicated digital audio player (no music on my iPhone…ever). I don’t like iTunes (and I despise iTunes “exclusives”, that means I won’t hear that music), but have found it pretty easy to work with for my music-importing/converting needs. I’ve found downloads and streaming have led to the feeling amongst so many that music has become some kind of disposable, inessential product. All my CDs are imported using the uncompressed Apple Lossless format and I still have all my CDs and liner notes and beloved physical product, along with all the attendant memories.

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    1. Well good morning to you. It is also rainy here but I think I’m going for my morning walk anyway.

      I like your way of thinking.

      iTunes exclusives have sucked me in before. I bought the Black Crowes and the Goo Goo Dolls. And then I went to the trouble of burning them to CD so I’d have them physically sorta!

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  7. I love when a video slams big corporations. Yes. Wait…Isn’t Tim Hortons a big corporation? ;)

    I have more music on shellac, reel to reel, 8 track, cassette, quadraphonic versions, dat, minidisc, and other old school formats than itunes.

    That’s because I am probably the only dinosaur that has zero itunes. None. No mp3 music whatsoever. Nada.

    I have no Apple anything.

    Physical product all the way for me. If you don’t believe me, just ask my accountant.

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      1. I have both. I can not play the shellac currently, but collect a few rare ones when I see them. Mostly old blues.

        I have a bunch of reel to reel and players that are currently in storage.

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        3. When we were kids, we used to ask the question: If your house was on fire, would you try to save your records?

          Next door neighbour George answered YES. As I got older, I definitely would have agreed with George.

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      1. Both. I buy the samplers if they are physical.
        I listen to the samples the bands have and buy a physical product if available.

        For some reason some bands only list digital tunes on bandcamp but have a physical product elsewhere. That always baffles me. I think it is to direct you to the labels website so that suckers like me will buy even more music from other bands.

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        1. Cool, just wondering. I like buying physical stuff there if it’s available. Getting the mp3 is cool if your buying vinyl and I like that you’re often getting stuff direct from the band. Fun if you get wee thank you notes and stuff like that!

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    3. I just bought a brand new album off Bandcamp. It has the album on limited coloured vinyl. The download code. But it has the album on cd as well included.

      AND the band added a minidisc. In 2018!!!

      I shit you not. I was blown away

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        1. I do have a minidisc player.

          However, I mentioned this album I bought came with a Minidisc.
          When it is actually a 3″ cd. Still cool to see in 2018 though.

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  9. Great conversation!
    Yup iTunes is my go to for a lot of current music!
    I value posts written by John and Scott that feature the new releases every Friday and if something stands out that they posted I head to iTunes….
    Basically having a family of 5 money is tight at times. iTunes gives me the opportunity to purchase music at a way cheaper cost than physical product.
    Case in point ..
    Ghost’s Prequelle album I purchased on iTunes for $7.99
    Guns N Roses Super Deluxe Edition has 55 tracks at $29.
    Their is no way I would be able to afford the Guns deluxe so iTunes is an viable option.

    Course if this was a perfect world I would buy everything in a physical format and it has been a hoot to get back to vinyl. CD’s I have no interest in really anymore as I would rip them and than dump em on my iPod….

    Thats my story and I’m sticking to it…I THINK! haha

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    1. Can never fault you for thinking with your wallet.

      Was just discussing with my Transformers buddy Jason that I need to cut things out. Star Wars figs can’t continue. And maybe some of these box sets too. I don’t know how to continue like this.

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      1. Yeah the Gunners box set is the biggie as outside the original album I don’t have any of that stuff iTunes gives the me the chance to own it at a decent price..

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    2. Same here. I think I’ve bought a couple of things via iTunes (occasional digital only releases), but it’s really just how I listen to music digitally (iPod / iPhone, and for streaming- Apple Music)

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  11. I’m gonna throw this out too… the music industry is doing a good job of forcing me away from physical lately. Over priced LPs, ridiculous box sets and CDs that are made as afterthought cause they want you to buy the big money stuff.

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    1. $1200 box sets. Guess what. All the other bands are seeing that some of us sheep are buying them.

      What bothers me the most are limited sets only available online. People that are not even fans buy them sitting at home in their underwear.
      Then I pay for a ticket, drive for hours to see the band live and they only have the generic album at the merch table.
      Then I have to pay huge money to the non fan that bought the rare stuff online.
      This is not right.

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    2. Here sheep.

      Here is the album in regular form $15. Deluxe Form $40. Super Deluxe Form $100.

      Ohhh and for you completists. The Super Duper Pay For Our Ferrari Edition with that 1 extra song and a bunch if useless shit you don’t want or need for $500.

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  12. My main complaint with iTunes is with its usability as I don’t think I have ever bought a single song on it for the same reasons you addressed. I used an iPod for a time, and was constantly frustrated with iTunes. Confusing to use, and so locked down. Nevermind the bullshit with only allowing so many devices connected to your account. But, truth was, it was the best music player at the time.

    I like physical and rip to digital, but I have bought digital (Bandcamp, and from Andrew Cash). The digital files actually get more use. I use my android phone as a player in the car, but have not found a way to play the music from my phone connected to my PC like I used to be able to do with my iPod. Apparently because of copyright, a lot of manufacturers locked the phones down so you can’t, and changed phones to media devices instead of “storage devices”. We slag Apple for this type of thing, while Android is pretty guilty too!

    Anyway, you buy files on iTunes, you don’t own anything – you are buying a license to play that file – which can be revoked (I don’t think Apple would? That would be very bad for business). But, I equate this to buying a Kindle book, which I have. If cheap enough, one less book taking up space…why the hell not. It’s all about where your priorities lie.

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    2. Stuff like that is why I would immediately burn iTunes bonus tracks to CD. They can’t touch that. And then I can re-rip that to PC if I lost the iTunes tracks. Or when the iTunes tracks won’t play on my car stereo!

      Hahah that video is great…

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  13. Out if ‘convenience’ I use iTunes. It damn Mike you are spot on Fuck iTunes and their controlling bs! Beatles should’ve never let them use the Apple name. Good to hear ya live too!!

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      1. I do…When you set up with CDBaby…they put your music up on all formats/hosts. Doesn’t sell though. iTunes is really demanding too. If you notice the image on iTunes had to be modified..on my part/expense to be acceptable. All words except Dude had to be erased due to how I submitted info to them. And there can be NO hint of physical format. My CD was called Dude. The A Guitar CD was just to make it look like my brother in laws beer label. But didnt fly with iTunes.

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        1. Yes in fact CDBaby calls them out. They point blank say iTunes won’t accept the artwork until you do such and such….or they won’t even take your artwork into consideration.

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        1. I surely did endorse Dude. The thing is, I didn’t rate it well because I know Mike Slayen, I rated it well because I liked it and I needed something like Dude for this summer!

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  14. no addresses this here. I don’t touch the stuff but was under the impression that Itunes messes with your libbary. Files get “upgrated” on their own meaning when u have downloaded that perfect non compressed version it could turn into the latest most compressed version overnight.

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    2. Yes remember when suddenly everyone with iTunes had a new U2 album show up? Not a big deal but I don’t want that being under their control, I want it to be mine.

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  16. I’m a physical product guy, but the industry learned nothing when vinyl became the format of choice for a whole load of folk. They spent years trying to stop people file sharing… people actually made a choice to buy product and, again, prices are getting daft.

    Mental. The industry is gonna fuck it up again… and then complain about file sharing and streaming. Again.

    Heck, I even have an Apple Music subscription now… and I dig it.

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    1. The industry IS fucking it up again. Like HMO said about the expensive reissues and box sets. It’s getting ridiculous.

      Was just talking about the problem of budget with my Transformers buddy Jason. I told him that I can’t keep buying everything I want and something has to give. I think Star Wars figs have to hit the brakes for me. But what about box sets? Those are getting stupid too. Used to be, one or two of those expensive suckers would come out per year that you wanted to buy. Now it’s so many, and so much more expensive.

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      1. Yeah, the box set stuff is ridiculous. I remember always fancying two or three around Christmas (always released in October or November), but now it’s every other week… and they are more expensive… and then there’s the deluxe version of the box set. Harder box. With a book. Then the super deluxe. Harder box. Book. DVD. Litho.

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        4. !!! Mental. Y’know, I reckon I’d go for the digital option, too. After I listen to it a time or two first…

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    2. Now that we’re back to buying physical, it IS getting expensive. $18 for a CD? What year is this, 1987?? And that is not a new release, nor for a remastered. It is ridiculous! I want to legitimize my collection, but they ain’t making it easy…

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      1. I find the regular cd for around $16 and the deluxe for $18 ti be baffling.

        Who buys the regular version?

        Then the band goes on tour and…surprise, they are giving the regular cd to ticket buyers.
        Although most fans already have the album.
        As someone else mentioned, it seems like the cd’s are an afterthought.

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      2. It’s mental. You can walk into a charity shop here and pick up CDs for less than a quid. Walk into a record store and the same CD is there for £10.

        Same with vinyl. Ry Cooder albums secondhand will set you back £4… record store has the reissue (nothing special) for £20+. Seriously. Fuck off. Labels still have no idea how to make the industry work for them and the artist.

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        1. Eff off indeed! Labels are children. They whine when they make money, cry when they aren’t. We are here wanting to buy music. Listen to what we want or we’ll find a way. Seriously spoiled!

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        3. I know one thing from collecting, and that is the only value something truly has is the value it has to you personally. Money? It’s always a gamble. I have stuff that used to be worth way more than sticker value, that is now all but valueless due to reissues!

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        4. I think the most expensive LP I have is worth £30, but that doesn’t bother me. Never did with CDs and hasn’t since I started buying vinyl. Like you say, the real value is the value to me. Even if I had an LP worth £200, I’d still struggle to let it go if it meant anything to me… same value as a record worth £2.50, really.

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        5. Exactly. I have actually had people offer me a lot of money for various albums I have reviewed here. My Cult 3 CD singles box set is one. Actually someone asked to buy my third party Insecticons from that Third Party post. In every case I have had to say “Sorry it’s not for sale.”

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        6. Really!? Wow… I guess you do review stuff it’s not particularly easy to find, so I guess folk figure it’s worth dropping you a line to ask.

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        7. I think a lot of the indi artists are doing it right. I bought two new releases directly from the artist recently, on vinyl, and yes it gets pricey with shipping and whatnot, but you know it’s going right into their paypal account. When it’s payable to “whoever@yahoo.com” than yeah, that’s his personal paypal. LOL

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      3. It all depends for me. I’m happy to spend $18 on an Iron Maiden cd (and most other bands I like), because I know I’m getting my money’s worth.

        But I’m not the best example for a rebuttal because I’m known to be willing to pay extravagant prices for some things.

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