> So I decided, for no particular reason, that I want the album "Izzy Stradlin and the
> Ju Ju Hounds", the 1992 solo release from the ex-Guns'n'Roses guitarist. It's a great
> album, and the only reason I didn't buy it back in the day was because my buddy had
> it and we just listened to his copy. I guess these days record execs would call that
> stealing.
>
> The CD is out-of-print, so all you can get is a Japanese import or a used copy.
> That's fine, I don't really want a CD that I'm going to rip once and then stash in
> the closet'o'junk for the rest of eternity, anyway. Check iTunes, check Amazon,
> search the web - *nobody* has a downloadable copy. WTF? It's an obscure album, but
> it's not *that* obscure.
>
> So I'm poking around the web some more, and I discover that it's available on the
> iTunes Ireland store, but not the US store. OK, that's pretty stupid, but whatever.
> I'll pay for it in Euros and eat the currency conversion, I've got a ton of iTunes
> credits from gift cards, anyway. "Oops, sorry, your account is for the US store, not
> the Ireland store." Really, Apple? WHAT FUCKING DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE??
>
> And then these jackholes wonder why people download shit.
Hehe... had similar issues this week. (Epoc Live "Ruffneck Soul" EP)
Want to buy _any_ CD/Vinyl? Just drive to the store and pop yer money on the checkout counter. Pay, and go away.
Want to buy digital? ->
Oh sorry, for downloading a complete album from Amazon MP3 store, installing our special downloader is mandatory. Not for single tracks btw...
Oh sorry, registration needed here! (everywhere). Even if i'm just paying via PayPal. (Did i have to do this registration in brick-and-mortar record stores? Friggin' no! It's a crappy download, not a shipped parcel!)
Oh sorry, we offer only a hilarious completely FLASH-ONLY website (Beatport).
And not every store even has the information about how the files are encoded.
The best bit was www.tradebit.de - while the same 5-track EP costd $9.99 at www.tradebit.com/their actual download partner 7digital.com, the german shop wanted to charge me a friggin' 9.99€!
By the way: It's the same in regard to charging the same amount in different currencies also for the software industry - see Agnitum (Outpost Firewall) for example. $49.95 vs. 49.95€. Fuck you, all.
Thats's (also) why "oh-so-simple" digital distribution still sucks big time for me.
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