Interview with:Front 242
The Belgian cult electronic act FRONT 242 recently surprised with the announcement to release a 2-Track download for free, but in various digital sound formats. We wanted to learn more and received some interesting answers…
Front 242 (F242): No, it only makes sense that we look for the highest quality formats to release our music. I believe the web is a danger for the coherence of artists and their work. It has a tendency to dilute the information and generally propose cheap and low quality formats. We have the possibility to go for proper quality based on no or minimal compression lets make sure people can choose that option.
RoD: You also chose to release it for free. The user just has to register with a valid E-Mail address. Trent Reznor obviously has enough money to cope with such a thing, but why did you as a comparatively smaller band, to release it for free. You could have made it a payable download instead?
F242: Only those 2 tracks are free as teasers but also as introduction material to set the different music standards in terms of download options and so inform people. We will put a price on the following tracks. I do not follow some artists view - as a race of "let's download everything or anything for free" or "let people do their own mixes" etc... - it is a way to degrade the value of music and the integrity of the artist. Most musicians / artists spend as much time as any other worker. Why should they not be paid for the studio work? Also, before, music was linked with an object (vinyl, CD), imagery (cover, booklet) and an attitude from the public to access (special shops, postage, alternative ways to get music, etc...). To make things free and easily downloadable discards the whole effort, process and involvement of the listener. I do not accept passive listeners. A piece of music is created in a specific environment with specific values, based on a personal experience; I'm not willing to deliver this on any format, through all possible channels, in pieces or to be remixed, free, etc...On the contrary, artists have to take a stand and need to have a precise concept about diffusion as well; put a price on what they did. In that matter, the internet is a mess - a jungle of anything, anyhow for anybody. If I could, I would even be more radical regarding this point with 242's music.
RoD: Why the decision to release ‘First Moment' in various different digital formats. Do you think most people will actually hear the difference between a 320kbps Mp3 and an uncompressed Wave file?
F242: It is not my problem if people do not want to know the difference. It is their problem to educate themselves and decide if they want to listen to crap quality or not... I cannot tell them what to eat either, but with Front242, we give them a possibility to learn about the difference.
RoD: Why do you think, people prefer a compressed audio file over a CD or an uncompressed Wave file to stick to the topic; just because it's smaller or is there a deeper sense?
F242: Because itunes, ipods, less storage, fast and/or free downloads, etc... Some new generations don't know better. Like I said the internet standards are low and pulling the quality down, at least on the music level. The NIN (or Radiohead) attitude has a perverse effect where people speak more about the fact that it is free, re-mixable, digital, etc... Rather than the content; the music itself. We experience the same with this interview on "first moments" but I hope our position will bring some educative value. Because music proposed on the web becomes disposable - free - without value. How can we make music special again?
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