| Maz 22.10.2004 13:14 |
A remark by Greg got me thinking. He said that QZ represents only a small amount of the actual Queen fans in the world. Now, let's assume that is right, then can QP stop marketing solely at us. Over the last couple of years, QP has increased its internet presence and actions. QOL has been developed and revamped several times, they have an email newsletter sent out regularly, they began a digital download service, and finally, today, they began offering 100 bootlegs for download. All of this assumes a degree of Internet saavy among the fans. Not all Queen fans who buy the latest product - whether it be a greatest hits collection or attending the musical - have internet access. Furthermore, buying a download assumes even more saavy than just having internet access - you must know how to download and what to do with this download once you have it. Now, weeks ago, we on QZ discussed this bootleg project and mentioned why it made us excited. Moreso, we mentioned things that would kill it for us, ie mp3, non-soundboard. You can be assured that for every user that posted in that discussion, there were 10 lurkers just watching and being influenced to some degree. So, would QP benefit from listening more, not just to fans, but to those of us on the internet? We obviously are dedicated to Queen, or else we wouldn't spend so much time here. We are a ready made marketing group being ignored. Perhaps we should take fatty's advice and stop thinking of ourselves as fans, and more as customers, and maybe take our business elsewhere. |
| Fenderek 22.10.2004 13:25 |
Zeni the Wet Sprocket wrote: So, would QP benefit from listening more, not just to fans, but to those of us on the internet? We obviously are dedicated to Queen, or else we wouldn't spend so much time here. We are a ready made marketing group being ignored.Maybe... But you saw how it works- Greg was here; instead of making a research- what do fans want- he was too busy with abuse and being an arrogant twat... It's their loss- I don't think the 100 bootlegs project will be very succesfull... |
| John S Stuart 22.10.2004 13:57 |
An excellent mail Zeni. I do not contribute to other Queen sites on the net because for me, this site is the original iteractive site (OK I liked Andrew Young's too - but that was more reference) and more importantly - the best. Therefore (as an experiment) would you, or any other poster, cut and paste this onto an other site, and we can actually find out how representative Queenzone is? Then perhaps if these "cells" unite - that muscle may be able to influence opinion. As pointed out - this is not the equivilent of a new studio release, furthermore, to keep it, you have to burn your own CDs on your own home equipment, and print your own covers on your own printer - so why charge that sort of price? Something realistic about £2.00 per pop (the price of an old audio cassette) would seem fairer. As I see it Fatty (and others) have been right all along, it's just not the fleecing that irks, but it's the "sh*tting in a bottle and selling it as chocolate" which really insults. |
| pma 22.10.2004 13:59 |
Yeah, you might think any self-respecting company would see the potential in listening to their customers. But, I'm sure that in the future all purchases of Queen products will require us to give out our REAL name and personal details in order to justify any opinion over the product we paid for... I like the subtle transition from the brand "Queen" to "Queen On Fire". Something's burning and it doesn't smell good. I'm just typing all this to make my fingers warm. |
| Penis - Vagina 22.10.2004 14:47 |
The internet has actually taken some of the fun out of things for me. I remember when I'd go to the record store and find something new without having known 6 months in advance, and how great that feeling was! |
| deleted user 22.10.2004 15:20 |
QP is a business right? And good business develops from what we, the consumers, think and react to what they, the producers, come up with for us. As far as I know, QP has been making middle-rate, if not unimpressive moves. I can see that they are trying their best to provide products that are good for them, and us, although their best is not enough and sometimes we resort to collecting bootlegs, which is hurting QP's income, when intellectual property rights are into consideration. |
| Lester Burnham 22.10.2004 15:34 |
I know I'm not going to be purchasing any of these downloads, as I listened to some of the songs from the Meadowlands concert - first of all, the 'Calling All Girls' clip was the fucking ending of the song, followed by 25 seconds of fans cheering - and they sound horrid. It's one thing to officially sell what's already on the market; it's another thing to beat the bootleggers to the punch and issue something far better than a bootleg. It's a lost opportunity, really, and I'm growing fed up with it. If Queen are going to do something, they should do it right, as opposed to doing it half-assed; if they're going to do it half-assed, I'd rather they didn't do it at all. It's become such a chore to be a Queen fan, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's fed up with it. While the two active members are jet-setting around the world, farting around with the fucking musical, we're back here desperately crying for new stuff - ANYTHING! So I'd rather they either do it, or don't do it - no middle of the road. These bootlegs were a step in the right direction, but if they want to provide quality stuff, then they really should be one-upping the bootleggers instead of matching their quality. Or just release the box sets, which Queen fans have been wanting for years. |
| Maz 22.10.2004 23:46 |
link Let's see how QOL reacts to this. Based on their comments regarding the 100 Bootlegs, I think they share a similar opinion. |
| Lester Burnham 22.10.2004 23:59 |
"The topic or post you requested does not exist." I guess they'd react the same as we would - with confusion. :-P |
| Maz 23.10.2004 00:05 |
Fixed it now, Dr.Incontinence. |
| Lester Burnham 23.10.2004 00:07 |
Proud of it, too! |
| The Real Wizard 23.10.2004 01:42 |
The moderator at QOL seems to be a prick. Check out his reply, full of ass-kissing and sarcasm.
Zeni the Wet Sprocket wrote: maybe take our business elsewhere.And where would that be? |
| djaef 23.10.2004 01:49 |
I posted this over at QOL, but thought you should read it here as well. Good post Zeni. To answer your question, yes, I think QP should take more heed of what we say. I think QZ/QOL users are very representative of a type of Queen fan - the type that would buy just about anything the band put out. We are their support base. And I'm not talking about the few thousand active members, I'm talking about the 50,000 - 100,000 out there in the wider world like us. We are the ones on the Net, but we represent a much large number of people. That seems clear to me. Our views are important, and it appears we are not being listened to. Sure, QP is a business and as such their decisions are based in the "whatever it takes to get as many sales as we can" mode of thought. Such thought leads to overcommercialism, and dragging the name of Queen through any mud that will get a dollar to stick to it. (Did I mention WWRY) :) Take it or leave it, the musical has surely put the name Queen back in the headlights, and I imagine Brian and Roger will capitalise on that by recording and touring in the near future (see Brian May's site for a touring comment). But what about QP giving something back to the fans... Where is the friggin' boxset? Who gives a rats if it's not a worldwide bestseller. We deserve it. As long as they don't make a loss (not possible), it should be released as soon as feasible. Ditto more live dvd projects - even though they might not have enough first class footage to release lots of Queen On Fire type full shows, they could do a Live retrospective a la Led Zeppelin. Triple dvd, Hammersmith, Earls Court... Again, it mightn't be a worldwide bestseller, or marketed at a broad an audience as Queen On Fire, Queen Live at Wembley, WWRY or any other post Freddie project, but it would be something that 100s of thousands of us would greatly appreciate, AND we would pay for the priviledge. I won't be buying the bootlegs as I too thought they sounded very ordinary. Ordinary bootleg recordings are available for.. uhh.. free. Why would I pay that sort of money for them? I think it's a poorly directed marketing excerise that is bound to fail miserably. John Stuart's comment that the cells should 'unite' is a great idea. United, we have more of a voice. But how? That's a discussion I would like to have. I have been posting on QOL for a year or so now, and lurking at QZ as well. It's harder to contribute to both, and I'd love to see them unite. The way QP are going, they are driving me away from any "officially endorsed" site, so maybe I'll start again over at QZ... I'd like some respect from QP. A quick visit to the boards from Brian would be nice as well. He has his site, but ignores us totally. GB made a total ass of himself recently at QZ, and he is really the only "official face" of QP we ever hear from. I'd like more connection to the core - more respect... That said, I'm looking forward to Queen on Fire :) I think the dvd collection series has been really good. |
| Lester Burnham 23.10.2004 02:04 |
Kes appears to be a prick, so it's really not worth arguing - I wouldn't be surprised if he got paid to be a yes-man. He can't seem to accept that Queen are putting out a shit product, and won't listen to other opinions. |
| djaef 23.10.2004 02:11 |
Yes, he acts like an enforcer over there at times. He will not contribute anything useful to the debate. |
| Lester Burnham 23.10.2004 02:21 |
You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. |
| Maz 23.10.2004 02:24 |
I just hope that the rest of QOL ignores his bullying tactics and contributes something. |
| Lester Burnham 23.10.2004 02:25 |
I think it's just that it's so late at night that people are either sleeping or just waking up. Then again, if you read my post asking about Press Conferences, it turned into a huge sparring match between him and Jake, and no one was able to answer my question. |
| Maz 23.10.2004 02:53 |
Sir GH<br><font size=1>ah yeah</font> wrote: And where would that be?Maybe it's time to let the Queen obsession go and follow a different band. I only have so much money, you know... |
| joeyjojo 23.10.2004 07:49 |
As someone who works in the internet industry for a living, I'm still appalled at the complete lack of 'listening to customers' online. This day in age, we've seem to forgot that listening to customers is actually a way to BUILD a relationship and, as such, BUILD a core customer base. Oh well. That said, I see no reason for any organization to listen to folks in these specific forums. These forums are so poorly moderated and full of pointelss juvenile vulgarity and snide remarks that it certainly does not show much respectability towards the first time visitor. |
| Penis - Vagina 23.10.2004 11:48 |
Lester Burnham wrote: it turned into a huge sparring match between him and Jake, and no one was able to answer my question.I'd respect Jake before that Kes prick anytime. Kes is why I only make very rare appearances there. The idea that someone like that is a mod gives me chills. |
| Maz 23.10.2004 11:56 |
joeyjojo wrote: That said, I see no reason for any organization to listen to folks in these specific forums. These forums are so poorly moderated and full of pointelss juvenile vulgarity and snide remarks that it certainly does not show much respectability towards the first time visitor.But that's something completely different. There are people who post here who QP is familiar with, plus it doesn't take a genius to figure out what threads are good or bad, just a bit of internet experience. Within the Queen community, QZ and QOL are the two biggest venues, and like the general public, they have their share of idiots. But that shouldn't be a reason to be ignored completely. |
| [ Wybren™ ] 23.10.2004 12:23 |
John S Stuart wrote: Then perhaps if these "cells" unite - that muscle may be able to influence opinion. As pointed out - this is not the equivilent of a new studio release, furthermore, to keep it, you have to burn your own CDs on your own home equipment, and print your own covers on your own printer - so why charge that sort of price?Excellent point, but how? Two problems: #1 - How to reach Queen Every poster at QZ and QOL could send a mail to 'future releases' saying that QP should release some bootlegs in sound board quality rather than 100 in shitty quality. It will be ignored. Any more ideas? #2 - How to reach all 'online' fans I don't have a clue. Another thing: why doesn't GB react in some serious topic like this one, rather than start a pointless topic himself?!? |
| [ Wybren™ ] 23.10.2004 12:40 |
BTW: This is the topic I started 2 months ago, so here are the 'original' ideas about this thing: link |
| The Real Wizard 23.10.2004 19:10 |
Zeni the Wet Sprocket wrote:I'm already doing that! But before we start whining to the Nth degree, we must remember that we seem to be getting one perfect quality complete concert ever year on DVD.Sir GH<br><font size=1>ah yeah</font> wrote: And where would that be?Maybe it's time to let the Queen obsession go and follow a different band. I only have so much money, you know... Of course, who wouldn't like to have more stuff in their collection? QP isn't delivering in terms of studio stuff, but two concerts in two years is just fine with me. |
| Penetration_Guru 23.10.2004 19:34 |
Fair point. |
| Polar Bear 24.10.2004 00:42 |
Whilst I would love more quality stuff, I am happy with the DVDs. Two concerts in two years is decent. It is a pity GVH3 hasn't come out, but Wembley was an excllent release and On fire at the Bowl looks a good un' too, so it's not all bad. |