“Inside the Zeitgeist” DVD out today
October 30th, 2007 by jjbtags: marketing, pitchfork, news, criticism, zeitgeist
This making-of-Zeitgeist documentary is available from Best Buy for $13.99; it will be packaged with a free CD copy of Zeitgeist that contains a previously unreleased bonus track entitled “Ma Belle”.
No, that’s not how it’s being marketed, but that is an economically equivalent way of describing the “re-release” of Zeitgeist. I don’t think anyone would have a problem with the band pricing a new standalone DVD documentary at $14; however, the offer of a $14 DVD/Zeitgeist combo ($10 if pre-ordered) has been met with some hysterically righteous denunciations. Two examples:
- Pitchfo*k Media has responded to this $14 DVD/CD offer by (again) trotting out an image of a 100-dollar bill with Billy Corgan’s picture superimposed upon it, referring to the band as “$mashing Pumpkin$”.
- The webzine Prefix headlines an article “Billy Corgan’s integrity R.I.P 2007″ and says anyone who wants this item would “probably better off writing a check for the same amount and sending it to P.O. Box Your Toilet”.
UPDATE: The “full length” DVD reportedly contains the 20-minute-long documentary as well as the promo videos for “Tarantula” and “That’s the Way”. That plus “Ma Belle” for $14? It’s a borderline call for me, but I won’t pretend to be deciding for everyone. Of course, I’m listening to “Ma Belle” right now for $0, so… :)
UPDATE: The in-store price is $10 through Friday.
October 30th, 2007 at 9:31 am
I personally have been looking really forward to this DVD coming out… I just see the CD as a bonus. Really, $14 is really cheap for a DVD. I’m just a bit disappointed that I can’t find them in Canada yet… I’m hoping that our Best Buy gets them too. If not, any Americans out there that would like to ship one to me? Turns out, I can’t order from the American Best Buy site. :(
October 30th, 2007 at 9:42 am
A standalone DVD doesn’t add to CD sales totals though, jjb.
I thought the initial hysteria over the multiple versions, was a little overblown, but I can understand why people would look at this release with skepticism.
In fact, it’s not even all that uncommon for rereleases (Wilco has done it with their last few albums), but the short time frame between initial release and rerelease that seems suspect, especially for a CD that hasn’t met sales expectations.
October 30th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Yeah, I’m in the same situation: Best Buy Canada doesn’t seem to have it yet. I called the American Best Buy and they said they unfortunatley won’t ship to Canada. I guess that means eBay for me.
And I fully agree with your recontextualization of the marketing pitch–DVD w/ free CD is the way I’m looking at it.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Point taken about sales totals, Jeremy, but Billboard does not hand you a bonus check when your album goes gold. Yes, I absolutely think that from Billy and Jimmy’s perspective this is largely about getting Zeitgeist into more people’s hands; go watch the R.E.M. clip for some non-monetary reasons why a band might want this. If it were about the “short money”, there are many, many, many more effective ways for the band to achieve that than by re-releasing its least popular album. (Can you say “Siamese Dream re-release”?)
October 30th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Yeah, I didn’t mean to imply they were looking to cash in, because as you said, there are better ways to bring in the benjamins.
And I really don’t think a new unreleased track and a DVD is really going to be a big boost anyhow. Many of the people who will buy this would have bought the stand-alone DVD itself; probably not many people on the fence who will now buy Zeitgeist *because* of the DVD.
October 30th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Personally, I think people might be a tiny bit upset if the band charged $14 for a 20-minute DVD containing very little in the way of footage we don’t already have.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I agree, Jeremy, that it will probably not be all that effective as a sales strategy. The Pitchfo*k-style reaction, though, is not BAND INEPT AT MARKETING. (If that were the line of commentary, I would be issuing kudos to its writer.) The reaction is MONEY-HUNGRY BAND BLEEDING FANS DRY, which is ridiculous, particularly coming as it does from the non-fans at P-fo*k and being directed as it is largely to rich Americans (who, believe it or not, are actually capable of doing without any one particular item that the band may offer).
If we had a culture in which we patronized artists, then things would be different, but the fact is that we tend to do spot transactions, exchanges of clearly defined good X for clearly defined amount of money Y. In the last few years, technology has shifted and as a result music consumers are much less willing to do those kinds of deals with artists. Zeitgeist is available for free on the web; as of today, “Ma Belle” is similarly available for free; as of tonight, almost certainly, the documentary will be available for free. The Pumpkins know this. What are their choices? They certainly could give up and not offer any tangible items for sale ever again and start begging for direct patronage….but another way to go is to keep offering tangible items in what’s become essentially a system of indirect patronage; I know that I could have everything they put on sale today for free, but I’ll choose to pay to support the band. I am fine with the patronage being indirect like that, because, personally, I don’t need or want them to beg me. Maybe other people want their favorite bands meekly to service them, but I am fine with Billy and Jimmy standing on two feet like self-respecting, productive people.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:20 am
I picked it up yesterday, and it’s a pretty sweet deal. $9.99 for a 30-minute DVD and 15-track Zeitgeist. It’s a 21 minute documentary plus the two videos. The doc is just what I wanted to see - house footage, Billy and Jimmy hanging out by the pool at RTB’s crib, rehearsal stuff, etc. This was worth the $9.99 alone. Not to mention Ma Belle.
Then again, I only had the iTunes version of Zeitgeist - so I was waiting for a release like this to tempt me for a second purchase.
The package is a nice presentation with new photos of Jimmy and Billy. I was a little dissapointed at the lack of booklet, but I can live with that.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I love how Pitchf*rk cries and whines about the disservice the Pumpkins do to Everyman. As if they’re not a bunch of kids who went to their top-tier colleges, lived in their parents’ McMansions, and inherited trust funds.
Make a transfer from that money market account, boyz.
November 2nd, 2007 at 2:38 pm
[…] a transcribed segment from “Inside the Zeitgeist” in which Corgan and Chamberlin hold it down for old-school […]