Handwritten Previews & StumbleUpon

My site, 'The Gaslight Anrthem Record', is featured on page 1 (bottom right), so that whole thing is fine by me.

PS: the two already posted preview videos are on youtube. You can just search youtube for "gaslight anthem preview" and they pop up. All Stumbleupon does is act as a search engine. So if you don't want to sign up for it or the contest, you can still find the videos pretty darn easily.

steady now steady now wrote:

My site, 'The Gaslight Anrthem Record', is featured on page 1 (bottom right), so that whole thing is fine by me.

Everyone is assuming Mercury forced them to do this. whos to say they didn't decide to do it themselves. One or two of the band might already be signed up to stumbleupon and thought it was a good idea.

Also - Chanters comment about borrowing money to make a record. Have I been wrong in thinking that a record label foots the bill for studio time, not the band, therefore the band wouldn't owe all that money???

Brian once said when they were on S1D that he was very aware of the label spending money on studio time so he wanted to be fully prepared to record when they got in there.

This isnt an example of selling out. Its an example of a pain in the arse to be honest clicking through all those pages. As some one else said 'selling out' is when a band changes the sound to keep in with the current market in order to make money. The GooGooDolls have done it. Its easy to see that John Rzeznik writes loads more ballads these days and film soundtracks because he knows people like them and he's good at it. Im sure GGD's wouldn't sell as many records if they made them all like 'Superstar Carwash' even though it alienates some of the oldest fans.

Gaslight haven't veered away from their typical sound yet and nor have they needed to.

Jerseyrain wrote:

Gaslight haven't veered away from their typical sound yet and nor have they needed to.

I think Brian said something to the effect that Mercury had essentially bought into an established brand (TGA) and that there was hence no fear that they would try to mould the band sound wise (the sound would always evolve in any case).

The marketing side of things was always going to look different though.

Man, I sure am sick of hearing the phrase 'selling out'.
A lot of people have made assumptions when bearing in mind, HANDWRITTEN HASN'T EVEN BEEN RELEASED.

No matter what Gaslight does nowadays, they're going to be called sell outs by certain people.

Let me clarify, it doesn't cost hundreds of thousands to simply record the album. It's a misnomer when a band signs onto a major label as if they're getting paid to be there...Gaslight is simply borrowing tons of money to make Handwritten because they think it can make them even more through the label's exposure. Speculating of course but I'm sure the band members received advances before even stepping into the studio, in addition to factoring the costs that goes into making the album a success (studio time, paying Brendan to produce it, living in Nashville, marketing the album, flying the band all over the world, etc.) This is why studios get the majority of the money from record sales, all the money Gaslight is using in every aspect of making this album has to be paid back. So although they may end up with a smaller share in record sales, if they succeed through Mercury's marketing then they can end up on bigger stages and make more money through concerts.

I understand it's easy for me to sit here and criticize some of these early decisions when I have absolutely nothing to lose. However I think it's a bit naive of people here to realize that it's no longer about the fans as it is about the money invested. If the quality of their music doesn't change and they want to whore their music out for some money then go ahead and do it. However don't whore out your fans so you can make extra money then put on the good guy act on stage as if you had no idea.

You are either criticized for lack of ambition or criticized as a sellout for wanting to be successful. You can't win. I seriously hate the term. It really pisses me off. People with ambition want to be the best they can be no matter what they do. In the future I want to work in a high paid job, I want to become a better footballer. I want to have the best life I possibly can. Guess I'm a sellout then.

With Gaslight it's the music that matters and they all know that, most of all Brian. His feet are firmly on the ground and I have no worries at all about success 'going to their heads' or any shit like that. People just like to stir shit up about 'oh they are on a major label now they have sold out'. It's rubbish. I would love Gaslight to become the biggest band in the world!

Rant over.

I just wants me that $250 gift card...or, you know, the insanely expensive Super Deluxe package since I just bought the vinyl record originally. It isn't really costing me anything but my time, which I spend enough already trying to find more random information on this band anyways.

New previews are up btw, "Mae" namely. Much better than the crappy Amazon bitrate sample. All of it sounds pretty wonderful so far!

From all the times I have gotten to speak with this band, and see the sorts of things they value and pay attention to through blogs, interviews, personal experiences, etc., it's really hard for me to ever settle on the idea that they are really "selling out". Brian will hopefully never have to be a carpenter again...I sure as hell wouldn't want to if I were him. He has the chance to live the rest of his life comfortable and as a complete badass. I don't really have a reason to be pissed if the previews can get accessed through StumbleUpon, especially when there are prizes involved anyways.

Blarg. Now I'm ranting.

I don't feel "whored out" as a fan. I am perfectly capable of not stumbling for ages to find a clip. So is everyone else. I could have listened to it when they were up on Amazon. If I do chose to search for it, it doesn't cost me anything. It's not even hard to sign up for or require me to get ads/junk mail. But it is an opportunity to win something if I want to enter. I have no problem with this. I'm sorry some people feel otherwise.

That's it for my input. We've talked everything about this album, this band, and everything attached to death in this long wait (understandably). It'll be out soon and we'll have something better to talk about.

Note: not that this stuff shouldn't be discussed I just think we'll all feel better when the album is out and we might change our minds on somethings.

Kosburn59 wrote:

I just wants me that $250 gift card...or, you know, the insanely expensive Super Deluxe package since I just bought the vinyl record originally. It isn't really costing me anything but my time, which I spend enough already trying to find more random information on this band anyways.

New previews are up btw, "Mae" namely. Much better than the crappy Amazon bitrate sample. All of it sounds pretty wonderful so far!

Where are you guys finding them? Do you seriously just stumble for ages or are you stumbling only "the gaslight anthem" or just waiting till it's on youtube??

StitchesOnTheRadio wrote:

Where are you guys finding them? Do you seriously just stumble for ages or are you stumbling only "the gaslight anthem" or just waiting till it's on youtube??

Shelby, noooo!

riversedge wrote:

No matter what Gaslight does nowadays, they're going to be called sell outs by certain people.

Agreed. The only way they could avoid being called sellouts is if they were still playing in a basement somewhere in New Brunswick, and no one here had heard of them. I'm only able to enjoy this band because they "sold out".

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/GaslightAnthem

You don't need to 'Stumble'. You can just go to this and the most recent videos are at the top.

jdc wrote:

StitchesOnTheRadio wrote:

Where are you guys finding them? Do you seriously just stumble for ages or are you stumbling only "the gaslight anthem" or just waiting till it's on youtube??

Shelby, noooo!

oh hush Josh I haven't made up my mind yet. I just wanna access them so I can enter the contest at the very least.

The band has been good to us for so long, shouldn't we just be happy they're doing well? Considering how hard they've worked? We knew things like this would happen when they signed to a major label. Some things might be inconvenient for the fans, but I'm sure the band is doing everything they can to keep us happy. A lot of things are out of their control now, like they can't just say no. Well, they could, but that's how bands end up one bad terms with their label and eventually get fired. A lot of bands have signed with major labels and after a couple releases went back to independent labels because of their fans. Because they were called sellouts and wanted to prove to their fans how "punk" they are. Remember, this means so much more to the band than it does to us. They're the ones who toured the world endlessly, sleeping in vans and barely getting by. They deserve all of this, even if it's a little tedious for fans. We all know they're super nice and genuine people who deserve to be happy, so let's just be happy that things are finally taking off for them. I'd rather waste time "Stumbling" and whatnot than seeing my favorite band work and work and work and not see any growth. I've seen that a lot and it's sad. And also, we don't really have to "Stumble", we can just click on the links to the previews here:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/GaslightAnthem

TheSultanOfSwing wrote:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/GaslightAnthem

You don't need to 'Stumble'. You can just go to this and the most recent videos are at the top.

Thanks!

NicholasHorror wrote:

The band has been good to us for so long, shouldn't we just be happy they're doing well? Considering how hard they've worked? We knew things like this would happen when they signed to a major label. Some things might be inconvenient for the fans, but I'm sure the band is doing everything they can to keep us happy. A lot of things are out of their control now, like they can't just say no. Well, they could, but that's how bands end up one bad terms with their label and eventually get fired. A lot of bands have signed with major labels and after a couple releases went back to independent labels because of their fans. Because they were called sellouts and wanted to prove to their fans how "punk" they are. Remember, this means so much more to the band than it does to us. They're the ones who toured the world endlessly, sleeping in vans and barely getting by. They deserve all of this, even if it's a little tedious for fans. We all know they're super nice and genuine people who deserve to be happy, so let's just be happy that things are finally taking off for them. I'd rather waste time "Stumbling" and whatnot than seeing my favorite band work and work and work and not see any growth. I've seen that a lot and it's sad. And also, we don't really have to "Stumble", we can just click on the links to the previews here:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/GaslightAnthem

THIS! Very well said.

IrishNameAndAnInjury wrote:

NicholasHorror wrote:

The band has been good to us for so long, shouldn't we just be happy they're doing well? Considering how hard they've worked? We knew things like this would happen when they signed to a major label. Some things might be inconvenient for the fans, but I'm sure the band is doing everything they can to keep us happy. A lot of things are out of their control now, like they can't just say no. Well, they could, but that's how bands end up one bad terms with their label and eventually get fired. A lot of bands have signed with major labels and after a couple releases went back to independent labels because of their fans. Because they were called sellouts and wanted to prove to their fans how "punk" they are. Remember, this means so much more to the band than it does to us. They're the ones who toured the world endlessly, sleeping in vans and barely getting by. They deserve all of this, even if it's a little tedious for fans. We all know they're super nice and genuine people who deserve to be happy, so let's just be happy that things are finally taking off for them. I'd rather waste time "Stumbling" and whatnot than seeing my favorite band work and work and work and not see any growth. I've seen that a lot and it's sad. And also, we don't really have to "Stumble", we can just click on the links to the previews here:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/GaslightAnthem

THIS! Very well said.

Agreed. THIS right here. No better way to put it. Bravo.

NicholasHorror wrote:

The band has been good to us for so long, shouldn't we just be happy they're doing well? Considering how hard they've worked? We knew things like this would happen when they signed to a major label. Some things might be inconvenient for the fans, but I'm sure the band is doing everything they can to keep us happy. A lot of things are out of their control now, like they can't just say no. Well, they could, but that's how bands end up one bad terms with their label and eventually get fired. A lot of bands have signed with major labels and after a couple releases went back to independent labels because of their fans. Because they were called sellouts and wanted to prove to their fans how "punk" they are. Remember, this means so much more to the band than it does to us. They're the ones who toured the world endlessly, sleeping in vans and barely getting by. They deserve all of this, even if it's a little tedious for fans. We all know they're super nice and genuine people who deserve to be happy, so let's just be happy that things are finally taking off for them. I'd rather waste time "Stumbling" and whatnot than seeing my favorite band work and work and work and not see any growth. I've seen that a lot and it's sad. And also, we don't really have to "Stumble", we can just click on the links to the previews here:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/GaslightAnthem

chanter wrote:

However don't whore out your fans so you can make extra money then put on the good guy act on stage as if you had no idea.

They're not whoring us out. Every bundle they offer, every contest the present... we all have a choice not to participate. An example of whoring us out would be taking all of our e-mails they got from the mailing list and selling them off to people for money so we can get a thousand junk e-mails every day.

Gosh Damn dude, quit complaining about this whole thing. Why are you so uptight about this? Geez. They aren't selling out at all. I feel like you are complaining just to complain. You are just one of those people who complain whenever a band goes on a big label. Quit being a Jimmy.

They 'liked' my friend's article!