Nugs.net concert downloads questions
 

The news item at sonicyouth.com states the following:


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Sonic Youth are selecting concerts from throughout their history and making them available at the nugs.net. The concerts are available through the nugs.net music streaming service or in multiple download formats ranging from MP3 to hi-resolution audio, as well as on CD.


Sonic Youth’s partnership with nugs.net kicks off with the following shows; additional releases will appear on a regular ongoing basis:
November 5, 1988: Cabaret Metro, Chicago, IL USA
December 13, 1988: CBGB’s, New York, NY USA
August 17, 2002: Metro, Chicago, IL USA
August 22, 2007: ABC1, Glasgow, Scotland
October 21, 2009: Columbiahalle, Berlin, Germany
August 12, 2011: Williamsburg Waterfront, Brooklyn, NY USA


Video release at launch:
August 22, 2007: ABC1, Glasgow, Scotland – The band perform Daydream Nation in it’s entirety live in 2007 and filmed by Lance Bangs.
Visit Sonic Youth’s live concert archive at nugs.net.
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This raises two questions:


1. Is the availability of the shows on CD something that is forthcoming, as the current batch is download/streaming only.


2. What is meant by "Video release at launch" in relation to the Glasgow show? Currently the show is available as an audio download and there is no mention of a video release at nugs.net. Will this come later once the theatrical screenings are finished?

Nugs.net concert downloads questions Reply to Thread
 

Can't see the CD option anywhere on the SY page. Also, you seem to have to sign up to some kind of subscription (no details of how much this costs) 30 day free trial thing just to pay for a download...

That is a little confusing indeed. I assume the "lossless" alternative (between mp3 and high-res) means CD quality, but I can't tell whether physical discs will follow... They should, according to the statement.

That would be my guess.

Hard to say, IMO since the CD is dying format I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing a CD release. In the end, it all comes down to profit vs cost to manufucture the cds, especially if they try to "self -release" these recordings. They will likely want/need the backing from a label (i.e. Matador) to do this and then it comes to whether a label wants to distribute this and in the end will they break even or profit on a cd release of this.

I just don't think its likely going to happen.

You don't need to pay for the service, just the downloads.

Great thanks!

Here's some more good info:

Once you purchase the show, the show is available for you to stream online or through the Nugs mobile app. You're also able download the show for a week or so, but after that window is closed you'll have to pay to download the show again.

Good to know thanks!

Well... I hope these shows will be shared someday for free in the future, specially the '88 ones (I understand the commercial rules, no problem). Samples are great.

Two new shows available folks, Goo and Thousand Leaves era!

It looks like the rest of the songs from the dirty boots ep gig have been released. Pristine scuzz format.

And I hope they make as much $$ as they can so they continue to release complete soundboard concerts from their archive! The list of shows available now is enticing enough, and I'm very excited to see what else they share.



I love physical media and eagerly await the next SY archival release (if any), but if they can drop 10 professionally mixed live gigs overnight vs increasingly sporadic "real" releases, I know what I'd prefer...


So I've registered and downloaded the Irvine '90 show in lossless ($13.66 Canadian, fyi). I was excited to see Aaron's thorough notes on the show, then disappointed to see that most of the shows didn't have any notes. Not thrilled with their interface, but am I correct that you only need to register a free account (which does not expire) to download the shows, you don't need to have an ongoing membership/subscription?


At $14 apiece I'll get them all eventually. I really hope this delivery system works well for the band and they keep adding shows!

I'm with Chris on this one. In fact, I'm trying pretty hard to get away from collecting physical media anyway. The truth is that with all the recent archival releases, I've pre-ordered them... and then they sit on my shelf since I'm listening to them on Spotify instead. So whatever.


Also, I'm with Chris that the Nugs interface sucks. You can sort the releases by performance year, but not by when they were added to the archive. This can make things confusing if you want to easily see what was recently added.


I had the same thought about Aaron's show notes, too. The few that he did long notes for are fantastic. I wish all of them had similar insight.



Some great shows here so far, though. Obviously some familiar from old bootlegs, but I'm glad to see them touched up and made 'official.' I'll slowly grab them all at some point.




Chris, are you gonna add these to the discography?

That's right! I have a free account and I've been able to access, stream, and download archival copies of all of the shows.

Oh it appears some of them are more expensive (US$9.95 vs US12.95 for lossless). Irvine is one of the cheaper ones. It sounds awesome btw! But I think next time I will pick a gig I haven't heard 1000 times...

I just don't like the idea of paying for bootlegs or tapes, I know some live albums have been commercially released over the years and maybe in physical formats I'd buy them (I have some vinyls actually...). I'm glad with this project and it's a good notice that those shows see the light... but I'd rather wait or I'll be resigned with my old versions.

These aren't really "bootlegs" they've been approved by the band and being mixed by Aaron Mullen who was one of their guitar techs(?) and been involved with their recording/mixing. So these are pretty official high quality recordings.

The recent 1998 show put up is pretty fantastic.

Aaron did their live sound circa nyc ghosts era onward and engineered most of the recording sessions at Echo Canyon beginning around the same time. He's currently one of the few with access to the SY archive trusted to review/mix the material. He wasn't in the nosebleeds with a cassette-o-phone.



I appreciate that they're releasing complete, unedited shows and don't think it's too much to ask to give back to a band that's been pretty generous with their taping/trading policies over the years. Mostly, I just want to encourage them to release more. I'm sure they'll end up on torrent sites etc but part of me is just kind of excited to have "new" SY material to look backwards to. :o

if you're referring to sites like Dime, it shouldn't be shared there. These should be counted as official releases.


In the case of the 1998 LA shows, night 1 as of now is an official release, nights 2 and 3 are not (yet) so they could still be shared. I'm definitely going to buy that show as I was there for night 1 and 3 and it was a blast to hear especially Anagrama live. Normally I don't pay for digital stuff (however I stepped away from trying to get it via other means), but I'll make an exception.

Me too, this is hugely exciting from my perspective. I've already bought a bunch of the shows and look forward to what's coming next.