Its Evolution Baby! (Target rumor related)
flyinwhole313
Posts: 1,651
To all the fans who are ready to call Pearl Jam sell-outs, and to a few of my friends whom which I spent the last 17 years rocking out to PJ with (who no longer call themselves fans, nor go to their shows) due to their alleged "sell-out" status, I UNDERSTAND how the idea of a Target partnership would seem to be against what the band stands for...I also UNDERSTAND how $88 face value tickets to see Eddie Vedder seems to be against what the man stands for, BUT look at what has happened to music over the past decade...Pearl Jam has made some TERRIFIC music over their past few albums, yet record sales are significantly dropped, WHY? The fucking Internet! They are NOT selling out, just trying to sell, period. WE ALL DOWNLOAD MUSIC (free) online, right? So how can you cry foul for OUR BAND, who does MORE FOR US THAN ANY BAND OUT THERE????? These bands we grew up with, listen to daily, LOVE...they need to thrive, and these guys aren't going to be able to tour every 2-3 years forever... I think it is noteworthy that they took a stand against Ticketmaster back in the day, even though it didn't help...look at how bad THAT has gotten...I tried to buy a $32 ticket to a show the other day, that came to $47 fucking dollars after "fees" that is almost a 50% upcharge, people!!!!!! 50%!!!!!!!!! And we ALL CONTRIBUTE TO THIS! Why? Because we have become a corporate society (...Crazy, indeed...), and though they MAY be selling their music through Target (who has a MONSTROUS Corporate display in Times Square, by the way) it is not like they are being sensored like Wal-Mart does with their CDs...So, yes I too HOPE not to hear of such corporate partnerships, but I think that Record Labels screw bands, and if Pearl Jam doesn't get promotion for their new album from a Record Label, and they are footing the bill for their own promotions, then whatever they do to promote for themselves is fine with me. It was easier to be anti-corporate in the 90s, NOW, you will go broke if you try...
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Today's music scene and the scene that was going on when Pearl Jam took all of their stands couldn't be more opposite...Hell CD's where the big thing back then and those had to be bought...today you can get any album you want the day it comes out in about 2 minutes for nothing.....these bands today are doing whatever they can to make money because of shitty cd sales....and I for one am not going to bitch at them for promoting their new album and trying to make some money...
Lollapalooza 07'
Bonnaroo 08'
Columbus 10'
Noblesville 10'
Alpine Valley 11'
Alpine Valley 11'
Music Midtown 12'
Wrigley Field 13'
Cincinnati 14'
Lexington 16'
PEACE
I have to agree to a large extent...on the other hand you can't blame anyone for wanting to make money; we all do it and to judge someone else for it is a bit contradictory. So maybe it's not so much that I lost respect, but more that they became "mortal", so to speak.
I think PJ has at least earned the benefit of the doubt with the Target thing. Would you rather them re-sign with a label? It seems like Target is gonna give PJ better backing than Sony records had for awhile.
Let's wait unitl we get 100% confirmation about Pearl Jam and Target before we bring our guns to town ...Okay?
I don't give a shit what pearl jam does as long as i have a copy of the new abum in my hands the day of the release and it doesn't cost me a fortune to purhcase.
The means of distrubtion to the masses has changed greatly the last twenty years and the band has evolved with the times to stay relevant. They will always do things on their terms with giving it a lot of thought first. They have given up millions and fucking millions b/c they believed in maintaining their integrirty..
As far as i am concerend this late in the game Pearl Jam can do no wrong.Some of you people need to fucking chill and trust the band.This is all just rumors at this point , it drives me fucking crazy how some of you get so easily bent out of shape.
- EV
What about Letterman, SNL, Storytellers, MTV Unplugged, commercials for Yield and RA, signing with Sony 2x, touring with Ticketmaster etcetcetc?
They sold out a long time ago.
This deal is probably not much different than the deal they signed with J records.
Did you read my post or is this a response to someone's response? I THINK this is a response to me, so...How is Pearl Jam not affected by album sales? I GUARANTEE that there are more people that OWN their music than who have paid for it. The internet IS to blame for the "demise" of the record sales industry, period. Pearl Jam included. That is no theory, friend.
Would I rather them re-sign with a label? That is their decision, not mine. I am just bringing enlightenment to the board members who think Pearl Jam are "selling-out" if the Target rumor is a fact...
At least Target Corporation is one of the most philanthropic companies in the US.
Big monopolies/corporations have already taken over. There are a dozen or so companies that control everything anyway. That's why it is so difficult to boycott one company because you find out that this company actually belongs to another who has 25 or so other companies under their 'umbrella'. Should you wish to continue with your boycott, you find yourself unable to buy most of the goods you rely on.
PJ, like any other band, need to sell their music to the masses - that's their job/their revenue. Seems people are putting a lot of words in the mouths of the band - they don't care about sales, they don't care about money, etc. That is very naive. They continue with all their good work but they also have their day job.
Target is one way to get their stuff out there..... I don't really see a problem.
Either the band moves with the times to stay viable and continues to attract a new, expanding audience or they wind up as 3 copies on the dusty shelf of an indie store most fans would probably bitch about the inconvenience of needing to get to. My local indie says that most of his sales, believe it or not, are from eBay. That tells me all I need to know about how many people actually go OUT and look for music these days.
i mean think of it this way...indie artists for the past few years have had COUNTLESS songs featured in commercials. (i.e. Apple, UPS, Chase) this is because the indie market is probably the weakest market... they don't get any radio play so you hear indie bands displaying their music all over commercial television just to get their sound heard
this is kind of that situation...
Pearl Jam is NO LONGER mainstream and thus their demographic is relatively small, compared to those in the mainstream...at least with the younger generation...so as of late, PJ has had to resort to the same corporate bullshit as indie bands
yes i hate that PJ would be selling out...but i am understanding
Being an 'idealistic' conscious consumer is almost impossible.
The way the consumer buys has changed over the years (oldie as I am, I remember we ALWAYS shopped locally at independent shops). Things have changed, the way we live has changed - more so in the US than in Europe. We mostly go to supermarkets where they have everything, shop once a week (if that much), expect to find everything under one roof (to save time), buy your food, your phone, your clothes and your music all in one place.
People are getting back to basics, watching their consumption habits, planting more gardens, living a lot more simpler. If you look hard enough, you'll find us. Not everyone is into the "times" as you'd like to believe. Not everyone is interested in what the big guy wants to sell. Because there's so much more to life than going shopping. Remember, we're not just consumers...we're humans, but the corporations want you to forget that.
Not everyone, but 'the masses' do. I would like to see things go back like they were when I was younger. I shop locally, plant my garden, etc. I like to get my food 'fresh', ie from the greengrocers, the butcher , the fishmonger, the 'dairy' shop (cheese, eggs, etc.), and support the small business, but it's not possible for a lot of people. How many neighbourhoods have all those (usually) family run shops? Not many. Is it convenient? Not really... Whilst there are people looking at things differently, most are still in the 'rat race'.
In response, to clarify, my wife and I have and VERY actively DO practice being "green" as the corporate movement goes. I DO buy organic, if you asked my kids if they want to go to McDonalds, or Wal-Mart will respond "No, that is junk food, or we don't shop there", so any assumptions here on a personal level are off. I have taken all of this into consideration BEFORE my OP, and I think there are MUCH more important battles than this one. BUT in YOUR defense- I am glad someone feels this way. But Pearl Jam is a band, that is their business...and though I feel that the IMAGE of being anti-corporate is a pretty one, I bet all the guys wear Calvin Kleins anyway...
Some of it was directed at you.
Tell me, which PJ album do you think would have sold a siginificant amount more? Yield was their last platinum album, Binaural isn't a mainstream album no matter you slice it, RA just isn't that good, and S/T is almost platinum. Those sales numbers don't really seem to reflect the internet digging into their sales.
PJ isn't the entire music industry and have to be the least affected major band. I realize that the internet has changed the way the game is played.
IMO the internet has helped PJ as much as it has hurt them.
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
1) Wal Mart
2) Target
3) Best Buy
That's just the way it works now since the demise of record stores. Sure they could ignore them and use the few remaining independent record stores or release it only through their own web site, but then who would buy it? The remaining Ten Club members and that's it. Unfortunately if they want to continue to record and release albums, they are going to have to play the game with someone.
BOS-9/28/04,9/29/04,6/28/08,6/30/08, 9/5/16, 9/7/16, 9/2/18
MTL-9/15/05, OTT-9/16/05
PHL-5/27/06,5/28/06,10/30/09,10/31/09
CHI-8/2/07,8/5/07,8/23/09,8/24/09
HTFD-6/27/08
ATX-10/4/09, 10/12/14
KC-5/3/2010,STL-5/4/2010
Bridge School-10/23/2010,10/24/2010
PJ20-9/3/2011,9/4/2011
OKC-11/16/13
SEA-12/6/13
TUL-10/8/14
Well... you could always release the album to all stores which would obviously include smaller records stores, etc.
Anyone think maybe Target will have an exclusive package with bonus video/tracks, but not exclusivity to the record itself? They do that all the time now with DVDs and CDs for both movie and music.