"URGH! A Music War" DVD!
Yeah, you kinda need this. "URGH! A Music War" is a rosetta stone for the turn-of-the-Eighties crash of the New Wave, and if you don't already know everyone on it, you should. Since the disc isn't so much "being released" as "escaping" courtesy of the manufactured-on-the-fly Warner Archives project (in which Warner Bros. actually does the right thing in making things in their vault available on disc that they couldn't put out otherwise) it could wind up getting pulled at any time, so it makes sense to pony up your twenty smackers now.
Here's a taste...
And now some updates:
Actually, it's about 27 dollars. Forgot about tax and shipping.
Jim Skafish had to pay that 27 dollars, too, which points up an apparent inequity that he highlights at his blog. There's thirty-three bands who appear on the disc, and it appears not a one of them had an inkling this was coming out when it did, nor is there likely any plan for them to get paid for appearing. Which sounds like the standard "artists get the short end of the stick" story.
That said, I think this might be easier to unravel than most. Since Warner Archives is a made-to-order operation where orders are placed through a single website, it's fairly easy (conceptually, at least) to determine exactly how much money this endeavor has made. That pile of money can do two things: it can suggest to artists that weren't interested in signing off on a new release that there's a bit of money to be had if they do, and it can suggest to some itinerant home video producer that there's a bit of money to be had in doing a proper release...especially since Miles Copeland (former IRS Records head and a producer of the original film who also was caught unawares by this DVD release) knows that there's another four-to-five hours of footage from those shows that could be plopped into a very appealing box set.
And between paying some bootlegger $80 and paying WB $20, I'm thinking the latter is the better idea, all things held equal. The latter's cheaper and, while Warner's is pretty big and corporate, the lawyers ultimately know upon whose door to knock. I'll continue to assert my "buy" recommendation.
Here's a taste...
And now some updates:
Actually, it's about 27 dollars. Forgot about tax and shipping.
Jim Skafish had to pay that 27 dollars, too, which points up an apparent inequity that he highlights at his blog. There's thirty-three bands who appear on the disc, and it appears not a one of them had an inkling this was coming out when it did, nor is there likely any plan for them to get paid for appearing. Which sounds like the standard "artists get the short end of the stick" story.
That said, I think this might be easier to unravel than most. Since Warner Archives is a made-to-order operation where orders are placed through a single website, it's fairly easy (conceptually, at least) to determine exactly how much money this endeavor has made. That pile of money can do two things: it can suggest to artists that weren't interested in signing off on a new release that there's a bit of money to be had if they do, and it can suggest to some itinerant home video producer that there's a bit of money to be had in doing a proper release...especially since Miles Copeland (former IRS Records head and a producer of the original film who also was caught unawares by this DVD release) knows that there's another four-to-five hours of footage from those shows that could be plopped into a very appealing box set.
And between paying some bootlegger $80 and paying WB $20, I'm thinking the latter is the better idea, all things held equal. The latter's cheaper and, while Warner's is pretty big and corporate, the lawyers ultimately know upon whose door to knock. I'll continue to assert my "buy" recommendation.
posted 10/08/2009 12:30:00 PM
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