Does anyone remember Fiona Apple? She had a small hit with her song ‘Criminal’ some time ago. Well, I’ve been a fan of hers for some years now and I’ve been waiting patiently for a new album or song from her to appear on the scene.
It turns out I’ve been waiting along with a whole bunch of other people. Back in 2003 she completed an entire album’s worth of music and submitted it to her record company (Sony) for release and distribution. Sony apparently didn’t like what they heard, as there were no radio-friendly singles on it, so they asked her for another song. She served up another one, but Sony was still unhappy with the album. So they shelved it. They literally took the entire album and put it in some distribution warehouse.
Fiona’s unable to do anything because of the contract she has signed with the recording company, and the album has sat unheard for years. Several of her fans created an entire movement to try to get that album (called “Extraordinary Machine”) released somehow, pestering Sony by sending apple-related messages and objects.
Now here’s where things get a little interesting.
Apparently a few copies of the songs have been leaked to a few disk jockeys and have been played on the radio. In 2003 that may not have been a big deal, but today, it is. People are freely recording FM broadcasts and sharing them via peer-to-peer systems. Low quality versions of most of these songs have become available via this oft-maligned network. Today I found out someone has managed to leak high quality versions of these songs – in fact I may or may not have been able to acquire copies of these songs. And they may or may not be available in my online music collection. You’ll have to log in to find out.
I really do despise Sony’s actions here. They signed Fiona with the intent of distributing her music, and making money out of it. However now that they don’t hear a hit (with their new hip-hop and pop slant) so they shelve her artistic efforts. How the heck can anyone defend this industry? They’re not out to promote culture and protect the rights of artists. It’s fairly obvious they’re all about the almighty dollar. They should stop using the culture claim as a shield and just expose their black corrupt heart to the world.
The fact that they are now trying to find ways to sue file sharers in Canada as well as the U.S. to try to protect their racket just makes me mad. My advice: stop fighting this digital revolution and try to update your business model to embrace it.
Just some friendly words from a guy listening to an album that you don’t want released.
Update : Oct. 1, 2005
It seems the fans have convinced someone to release Fiona’s third album. However Fiona herself wasn’t happy with the album as it was, and revamped the album entirely. She kept only two of the songs, and brought in entirely different producers. You can read a review of the released album here.