Do you think it would be plausible for Queen to start releasing stuff through the fan club perhaps, just good quality yet simple CDs and DVDs of stuff that otherwise might never come out, such as existing official concerts, documentaries, maybe various live shows and such?
This would take care of problems/excuses such as 'flooding the market' or stuff being outdated.. things that wouldn't have to be heavily promoted or on store shelves.. just officially licensed versions , perhaps with a portion to benefit the fan club (or heck, the QueenOnline shop for that matter), maybe a portion assigned to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.
Everyone would benefit.. fans who want the stuff, especially. And it would help to eliminate people selling pirate versions on Ebay.
If any band could do such a thing, Queen certainly has the funds to get it started.
Maybe I'm overlooking something but this would sure be great.
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Yes may be we have another Freddie Mercury re-re-released of mixes or live at the Bowl re-released again.
They missed the boat on this years ago. The membership of the fan club has dwindled as would be expected after the death of Freddie and thus the market has reduced.
There may be a chance, however, that if rarities were issued throught he fan club only, numbers would increase again, but the last time I broached the subject with Jackie, I was told that until the membership numbers are there to justify it....... There was also an arguement that the numbers sold would not justify the cost of producing the material t sufficient quality.
Same old same old I'm afraid. Intransigence is rife in all things OIQFC & QPL related....
There may be a chance, however, that if rarities were issued throught he fan club only, numbers would increase again, but the last time I broached the subject with Jackie, I was told that until the membership numbers are there to justify it....... There was also an arguement that the numbers sold would not justify the cost of producing the material t sufficient quality.
Same old same old I'm afraid. Intransigence is rife in all things OIQFC & QPL related....
Well, I don't really mean 'fan club only', I just mentioned them because they have that exclusive cover versions CD available right now... but anyone can buy it. So if they whipped up some simple no-frills releases of stuff.. I'm mostly thinking of videos actually, like Rainbow for example.. a simple single layer 1 hour DVD with PCM sound and chapters.. heck, they could even do DVD-Rs.
And the documentaries which are out of date but people enjoy.. Magic Years and Champions of the World.. this would be a way to release them again.
And the documentaries which are out of date but people enjoy.. Magic Years and Champions of the World.. this would be a way to release them again.
Yes but the fan club does not own the rights to any of that material. Queen Productions is highly unlikely to want to issue anything through the fan club.
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]PieterMC wrote: [/QUOTENAME]Yes but the fan club does not own the rights to any of that material. Queen Productions is highly unlikely to want to issue anything through the fan club.[/QUOTE]
Which is typical of Queen. They don't give any real support to the fan club and have failed to help them improve in any way. I feel for Jacky because she has tried so hard but is given virtually nothing to work with.
It's no surprise that membership has dwindled but if the fan club isn't given any weapons to work with then of course it'll go down (I'm surprised they haven't closed shop already.)
It's a shame when you see how other bands back their fan clubs 100% (Pearl Jam comes to mind.) Fan clubs often provide that grass roots support that a band like Queen desperately needs in countries like America.
The ONLY way for the Queen fan club to be resurrected is by releasing exclusive product like CDs (DVDs would be too troublesome and would likely suffer from lack of quality. I can see a cheaply produced DVD come out, fans attack it and never buy another again BUT on the other hand, CDs really wouldn't have that kind of issue to deal with.)
Do a test run. Ask the fans what they would really like to have, check with Queen and their record label to make sure they have no intentions of releasing it commercially, offer it ONLY to fan club members at a reasonable price and see if it increases membership. Then go from there.
Which is typical of Queen. They don't give any real support to the fan club and have failed to help them improve in any way. I feel for Jacky because she has tried so hard but is given virtually nothing to work with.
It's no surprise that membership has dwindled but if the fan club isn't given any weapons to work with then of course it'll go down (I'm surprised they haven't closed shop already.)
It's a shame when you see how other bands back their fan clubs 100% (Pearl Jam comes to mind.) Fan clubs often provide that grass roots support that a band like Queen desperately needs in countries like America.
The ONLY way for the Queen fan club to be resurrected is by releasing exclusive product like CDs (DVDs would be too troublesome and would likely suffer from lack of quality. I can see a cheaply produced DVD come out, fans attack it and never buy another again BUT on the other hand, CDs really wouldn't have that kind of issue to deal with.)
Do a test run. Ask the fans what they would really like to have, check with Queen and their record label to make sure they have no intentions of releasing it commercially, offer it ONLY to fan club members at a reasonable price and see if it increases membership. Then go from there.
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Benn wrote: [/QUOTENAME]They missed the boat on this years ago. The membership of the fan club has dwindled as would be expected after the death of Freddie and thus the market has reduced.
There may be a chance, however, that if rarities were issued throught he fan club only, numbers would increase again, but the last time I broached the subject with Jackie, I was told that until the membership numbers are there to justify it....... There was also an arguement that the numbers sold would not justify the cost of producing the material t sufficient quality.
Same old same old I'm afraid. Intransigence is rife in all things OIQFC & QPL related....[/QUOTE]
With audio CD´s concerts they just need a server to upload the files and then guive the download links for download. This way the costs would be insignificant.
Queen have a market for these things, and it´s a very good idea for the "not good enough to release" videos like Hyde Park´76 and Earls Court´77. I can guarantee them that they would profit more the the "Combat the bootlegers by selling bootlegs" thing.
They don´t want to do it because they know they can keep release them for exorbitating prices in the future. Wait and see!
Take care
There may be a chance, however, that if rarities were issued throught he fan club only, numbers would increase again, but the last time I broached the subject with Jackie, I was told that until the membership numbers are there to justify it....... There was also an arguement that the numbers sold would not justify the cost of producing the material t sufficient quality.
Same old same old I'm afraid. Intransigence is rife in all things OIQFC & QPL related....[/QUOTE]
With audio CD´s concerts they just need a server to upload the files and then guive the download links for download. This way the costs would be insignificant.
Queen have a market for these things, and it´s a very good idea for the "not good enough to release" videos like Hyde Park´76 and Earls Court´77. I can guarantee them that they would profit more the the "Combat the bootlegers by selling bootlegs" thing.
They don´t want to do it because they know they can keep release them for exorbitating prices in the future. Wait and see!
Take care
What I think would be a good idea is for Queen to embrace BitTorrent. The Who have done this with Long Live Rock (www.longliverock.org), where they offer good- to excellent quality live shows from throughout their career. Registration is free and you don't have to pay anything for the torrents (though they do take donations).
I think what QPR should do for subsequent shows is strike up a deal with themusic.com (like The Who, Pearl Jam, and Peter Gabriel have done) or a similar site, where they offer all their shows (from current tours) on CD and DVD, with no overdubs. All proceeds go toward charities. It would essentially mean the end of QPR live albums, but it would be for a greater cause.
That said, I can't see Queen implementing any of those ideas, especially considering the debacle of "The Top 100 Bootlegs".
I think what QPR should do for subsequent shows is strike up a deal with themusic.com (like The Who, Pearl Jam, and Peter Gabriel have done) or a similar site, where they offer all their shows (from current tours) on CD and DVD, with no overdubs. All proceeds go toward charities. It would essentially mean the end of QPR live albums, but it would be for a greater cause.
That said, I can't see Queen implementing any of those ideas, especially considering the debacle of "The Top 100 Bootlegs".
Never mind the fact that Brian would not want anything to be released that he was not happy with.
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]PieterMC wrote: [/QUOTENAME]Never mind the fact that Brian would not want anything to be released that he was not happy with. [/QUOTE]
That's a good point. Brian tends to rewrite history, plus there's his supposed perfectionism, which never fails to backfire.
It's just an idea.. and I realize the fan club doesn't own any rights.. I was just suggesting them as a vehicle for distributing the products. Or the QOL shop. The fan club makes more sense to me since it would be a project more for the fans and could be kept separate from the big-time Queen new releases.
That's a good point. Brian tends to rewrite history, plus there's his supposed perfectionism, which never fails to backfire.
It's just an idea.. and I realize the fan club doesn't own any rights.. I was just suggesting them as a vehicle for distributing the products. Or the QOL shop. The fan club makes more sense to me since it would be a project more for the fans and could be kept separate from the big-time Queen new releases.
I've read interviews with Brian where he talked about staying up all night to get a few notes perfect on some of the tracks on Another World. No wonder it took him 6 years to make it.
It's bullshit that it isn't possible. How come it is possible for a band like Genesis to release a set with stuff. I'm 100% that the whole Queen empire is about 5 times as big as the Genesis empire.
Maybe it's because Queen stuff still sells and Genesis will get the big bucks through making special fan stuff?
Maybe it's because Queen stuff still sells and Genesis will get the big bucks through making special fan stuff?
i know Jacky has broached this subject and many other one's numerous times with the PTB--
i was shocked when they allowed Unconventional Queen and agreed to waive royalties
they truly have missed the boat by not utlizing the fan club better--with some PTB being stunningly snobbish and callous to boot
someday i hope a couple light bulbs go off in some heads of those in the hierarchy
have a funny feeling though when it does it will be too late
i was shocked when they allowed Unconventional Queen and agreed to waive royalties
they truly have missed the boat by not utlizing the fan club better--with some PTB being stunningly snobbish and callous to boot
someday i hope a couple light bulbs go off in some heads of those in the hierarchy
have a funny feeling though when it does it will be too late
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]iron eagle wrote: [/QUOTENAME]i know Jacky has broached this subject and many other one's numerous times with the PTB--
i was shocked when they allowed Unconventional Queen and agreed to waive royalties
they truly have missed the boat by not utlizing the fan club better--with some PTB being stunningly snobbish and callous to boot
someday i hope a couple light bulbs go off in some heads of those in the hierarchy
have a funny feeling though when it does it will be too late
[/QUOTE]
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt?
P.T. Barnum?
Peer Transaction Bus?
Portland Trail Blazers?
Oh!! Powers that be? Ok, gotcha.
i was shocked when they allowed Unconventional Queen and agreed to waive royalties
they truly have missed the boat by not utlizing the fan club better--with some PTB being stunningly snobbish and callous to boot
someday i hope a couple light bulbs go off in some heads of those in the hierarchy
have a funny feeling though when it does it will be too late
[/QUOTE]
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt?
P.T. Barnum?
Peer Transaction Bus?
Portland Trail Blazers?
Oh!! Powers that be? Ok, gotcha.
Everybody knows that I don't like Jacky and her fan club...
... but in this case it's fault of Queen Productions. If they don't allow the fan club to release "rarities", then the fan club can't do anything about that.
In my opinion the ONLY chance how the fan club can survive is:
1. Fan club must be integrated into the Queen empire again. Look how popular QueenOnline is - even though it doesn't offer almost anything interesting at all.
2. Jacky must be fired.
3. Queen must accept that fans want to hear all kinds of rarities or unreleased live recordings - no matter if Brian broke a string that night or Freddie farted on stage.
... but in this case it's fault of Queen Productions. If they don't allow the fan club to release "rarities", then the fan club can't do anything about that.
In my opinion the ONLY chance how the fan club can survive is:
1. Fan club must be integrated into the Queen empire again. Look how popular QueenOnline is - even though it doesn't offer almost anything interesting at all.
2. Jacky must be fired.
3. Queen must accept that fans want to hear all kinds of rarities or unreleased live recordings - no matter if Brian broke a string that night or Freddie farted on stage.