I will be purchasing this album without a doubt. Probably more than one, since there are a two of us in my house who listen to your music obsessively. I also encourage my friends to buy your albums, and many do. As long as you make music, I shall buy your albums, no matter the cost (well, within limits obviously). Your music is the best there is, and I being a musician as well understand completely the creative energies that go into writing a song and recording it. Keep on Rocking Matt.

hey matt im listening to your album on my break at work(music store), it’s amazing by the way, i’m digging the new sound and come july 31st i’m gonna push this puppy, not that it needs it or anything.

my b-day was a day before yours so thisa sneak peak just made my day, cheers buddy

I’ll be buying it from the USA iTunes store and also ordering a hard copy from Canada. I like to collect when I’m a fan of something/someone.

I can safely say I will be purchasing Hospital Music maybe even two, one for a backup. I also agree with myfavdj.

It’s simply pathetic that people would do that when it’s so affordable and simple to purchase it on iTunes. As a music fanatic, it’s really disheartening because it injures the artist. The artist that we are suppose to support and honour.

What a bloody shame Matt. I for one would either purchase the tangible CD or purchase the file off iTunes, and I know my friends feel strongly about that fact as well. Music is a vital part of the arts community obviously. It’s also one of the few arts that everyone can relate to. Sometimes visual art is not as easily assimulated/appreciated/understood. I’ve read Jeanette Winterson’s “Art Objects” several times and so appreciate the various perspectives on art. Music is just so precious in this empty world. Stand up for it folks. As Albert Schwitzer said, “there are two means of refuge from the misery of life - music and cats.” For you Matt, it would be music and furry little dogs. God bless you for your integrity. You’re a gem.
Stephanie, North Vancouver

i have to be honest. i don’t buy too many cds anymore, because the net has made it too convienient to get what i like. And as much as we’d like to admit it, almost all of us at some point or another have downloaded music, movies, etc instead of buying. However Being a fan of matt good since..well forever i do have almost all of the matthew good, and matthew good band’s albums, singles and rareities. (i can’t get my hand on an original Lo-Fi B-sides without dropping over $150 ). I even purchase Annabelle from iTunes, so i could A), have another song by matthew good , and B)to support Amnisty Canada. This is not to brag or anything like that (there are some of you out there who are way bigger of fans) But I too will buy 2 maybe 3 of hospital music depending on how much i play the album. (i like to keep one in the wrap never opened), this is only because this is where my loyalties lie , and its true the album is out on torrents, but out of respect to the artist, I have ignored the temptation to download, and i say boycott the urge to download Hospital music (at least until you purchased the album). Think of it this way, if you ever want to hear it before the release you can just stream it, get your fill, then move on. Lets Do our part in keeping the ability for Matt to continue making albums and singles for a long time. i am NOT naive, i know i am just a cog in this online community, but having the freedom to express myself without fear of ridicution is key. This has just been my 2 cents.

I’m guilty myself of saving the stream to my computer and burning it to CD the second it was available.

I recently did the same thing with Spoon’s new album.

Lately I’m of the opinion that once an artist releases an album online, it’s “out” and I can go ahead and enjoy it. Yet I have my own peace of mind because I know I’m going to buy multiple copies of your album, as well as spread the word about it. (and should add that I pre-ordered Spoon’s album well before I could download it as well)

It’s a shame that this may result in people listening to it without paying for it, but would those people have bought it anyway?

I’ll probably buy the iTunes version AND the physical copy, because I’m well aware of how artists - especially in Canada - are slaves to the record companies, often in debt and surviving solely on the basis of touring/merch sales. And so I don’t mind contributing to Matt in whatever way I can, because I know that doing so keeps him able to produce beautiful (and beautiful-SOUNDING) records.

Little-known fact: until her stupid Newlyweds reality show hit the air, Jessica Simpson was in debt to her record company to the tune of $2.3 million, thanks to a couple of poor-selling discs. The appearance of riches and fame can be misleading.

That needed to be said Matt. I will buy Hospital Music when it comes out, as I have planned to all along. I’ve heard it only the stream once, and think it sounds fantastic. Great melodies, songwriting, solid musicianship, very passionate.

Aw dude, I love the new album and you bet I’ll be there first day it’s out, like I always have been, to pay some faceless corporation for your brand new CD. Last night I laid in bed, headphones on, and I listened to your new stuff for many hours.

I cannot wait to unwrap the new cd and pop it into my cd player and BLAST IT.

Peace and Love.

I completely agree with myfavdj. And call me old fashioned, but I’ve always loved the giddy anticipation of waiting for a new album, making the pilgrimage to the record store the day it comes out, and putting that cd straight into my cd player/car/diskman to be played on repeat for at least a couple of weeks, until I know every song by heart.

The point is of course a good one. People should buy the music they love, because it is the only thing that can really assure another record coming out. That said you may argue that some of the people who download the album would never buy it in the first place. On the other hand there are people who get in touch with music through the internet, and start buying records because of that. I am guilty of that myself, having gotten in touch with Matthew Good through an internet forum, and then downloading Avalanche. Now I own 4 CD’s and intend to buy the remaining ones. I am a “poor” student now, so my CD budget is not as big as I would like it to be, but I try to keep up with the stuff I download.

That said of course downloading is still stealing, and supporting musicians is important. There will always be opportunists, but we can’t let them ruin music.

I have all the MGB and MG albums most of them I purchased multiple times… with the exception of Lo-fi B-sides Black and loser anthem Blue and several orange which I own and cant get multiples of (I’m Bragging I know)…

however, That being said I have certainly binged on downloading Mp3’s on the net in the Mid 90’s when I saw the opportunity and I ignorantly thought it was harmless… then all of a sudden I went back to purchasing CD’s and the reason I did is in fact that I like owning the real Cd and supporting my favorite artists, call me a victim of Maturity, but the sad fact is simply that downloading is now the cancer hurting the core of our culture if you dig deeper in this subject… And like Cancer it will never go away…

I think major steps have been taken since the DL era began with I-tunes, and making Cd’s more affordable but we have a lot of work to do to protect our Artists in Canada… especially the ones we admire, I wouldn’t want Matt to have to write Jungles for commercials to make ends meet … that would suck.

But they would be great fucking jingles!!!!

listen asshole. first off, i spent years of my childhood in glasgow, scotland and for you to make these sympathetic comments from the comfort of your lazyboy in las vegas while some hooker sucks you off pisses me off more than most of the other shit you’ve done in the past.

have you even set foot in scotland? didn’t think so.

secondly, are you pissed that my friends and i recorded your album, chopped it up, balanced it better than anyone you’ve ever worked with and plan to sell burned copies on rideau street on canada day for $1? if so, fantastic.

btw how’s the weather there, cheesedick?

well shit now I’m gonna buy 2 copies of the new disc

It’s a real two-edged sword here. I want to see artists like Matt continue to make great music and make a good living from doing so.

So you kind of worry that P2P will damage his ability to do so.

On the other hand I am an accidental fan. I bought Beautiful Midnight in a music store thinking I was getting another artists work (Matthew Sweet). Couldn’t quite remember the name at the time.

Anyway, I was blown away and wanted to hear more. Being in Australia, MBG wasn’t a big act (in retrospect I can’t believe I got a copy of BM).

So I went to Napster. Found the other albums. Loved them. And bought them all off Amazon.

Cut to present day I just ordered for copies of Hospital Music off Amazon (got some friends into Matt).

None of this would have happened without P2P. It gives artists reach outside the marketing machine of the labels.

born loser? YES

Quoting catastrophe:

and incase that post wasn’t clear enough, I WONT BE BUYING IT AND ILL BE ENCOURAGING EVERYONE I KNOW NOT TO EITHER

IF IT COMES TO IT I MAY GIVE COPIES AWAY FOR FREE AT A LOSS TO ENSURE YOU NEVERR HIT PLATINUM AGAIN

Wow. People still pay money for pirated material? Has no one on Rideau street heard of P2P? Not to mention, Matt hasn’t hit platinum in a while - making original / interesting music has a tendency to put the clamps on astronomical sales figures.

Also, spelling and grammar are your friends.

Also (and I really have to stop double posting - sorry) as far as P2P goes. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It’s hard to determine whether those who download it won’t buy the CD (studies concerning this are usually pretty mixed) and its quite likely that those who did download it are doing it mostly to just have a copy to listen to offline. Matt Good fans strike me as a loyal bunch. I thought about doing the same thing but realized I like listening to the whole album end to end. And I’ve got my preorder burning a hole in my pocket.

That said, I think the days of paying for each piece of music you listen to are gone. Another way of providing financial support to artists (perhaps like the EFFs collective copyright idea - http://www.eff.org) would be a good way to go. It’s simply unreasonable to expect people to pay to fill their 80 gig iPods (at a dollar a song, the end price is crazy).

I think most people who do fileshare (which in my opinion is quite different from Piracy) do it honestly.

Also, and I doubt you’ll do this, but perhaps to help out with your recording debt you could solicit donations. It may help a little and I know most of us would be more than willing to send you money knowing all of it was going to you and simply a small portion.

And thanks for embracing this whole crazy internet thing. It’s much appreciated.

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that if not for napster and p2p in general I wouldn’t be here today and planning on purchasing the new cd, traveling 100’s of miles to attend shows or purchasing other merchandise, while telling every single person that I come in contact with about MG’s music. so all in the p2p world isn’t all bad. Although I’m curious why if something is so fundamentally important to someones being to the fiber of there soul that and seemingly not being interested in mainstream airplay/sales. That poor album sales, whether being from pirating or just popular disinterest would hinder one from producing, writing, recording more work.

If I like what an artist is trying to do with their music, I buy the CD. If I don’t end up liking the CD, I give it to someone who does, and I know I have contributed in a tiny way to giving that artist a chance to make another. In some cases I’ve bought multiple releases by the same artist that I’m still rooting for. I don’t regret buying a single one, because all of them are made by people that deserve to continue to distribute their music.

I can understand being more selective if you can’t afford it.

Yes! Wolfrider! I am very much with you on the EFF. I’ve even donated and I encourage others to do so as well. If I could reach through the internet and hand Mr. Good, and every person that assisted him in recording the album, the money for his album, I would. For now though, I’ll settle for the imperfect iTunes solution.

I’m very happy and appreciative that Mr. Good put his album streaming on his site. Even better that he did it as an atomic set. Listening to the album in order gives one an appreciation for the album as a work of art and in my estimation, this album is better than every previous album he has been involved with. I’ve never felt that way before about any of his albums despite them all being quality productions. I just wish A Single Explosion and Odette weren’t so damn short!

It’s my hope that the respective income from this album is commensurate with the labor with which it was created! After getting a few good listens in on this website, I know I’ll be getting it.

Hospital Music sounds great Matt…really liking it. Looking forward to purchasing it. Thanks.

If only you had copies of the material from your early demos, Matt. I’d pay quite a bit for higher quality remastered versions of those. Released independently I’d say it would help pay the bills and give fans a first-hand insight into your more humble beginnings.

God that’s horrible. What a loser. He’s trying to sound like Matt, but he just sucks. Then he posts his ranting crybaby crap here.

I would hope that most of those people would still buy Hospital Music when it comes out. And like most people said, I think some people will even buy multiple copies. I had always planned to buy two copies when it came out — one for me and one for my dad, since coincidentally, both of us spent time in a hospital this last year.

Great show last night Matt. Hope you enjoyed your birthday.

I think we are all overlooking one very important fact here: the average consumer is NOT a music fan. The average person figures “why pay for something I can get for free online?”. They don’t need the physical copy of the record and aren’t savy enough to notice that the quality isn’t all it can be. People download movies and music, even at poor quality, because they don’t think it’s worth paying $15-$30 for an album they only like a couple of songs on. It’s unfortunate, but sadly, that is the culture we live in.

The key is to figure out how to ditch the middle man (ie: the record company) and still be able to reach a mass audience. Oops, we already did. It’s called the internet. You and Dale are smart guys, you’ll come up with something.

The CD is dead. Let’s move on.

ps: i love albums, and if i could afford to, i’d buy each record twice and the white and grey copies of The Audio of Being and the American copy of Beautiful Midnight etc etc

Well spoken, Matt. It’s always been my belief that if you appreciate a musician, ultimately you’ll support them. This means purchasing the records and/or attending the concerts. Downloading music can be great because it allows you access to music you might not have without an internet connection. But one has to keep in mind that there is effort put into these things, so the artist shouldn’t go unrewarded! I’ll always have the money to spare for the musicians I like - leak or no leak.

well, im just gonna put in my 2 bits.

i was one of those kids in the beginning downloading music from the p2p sites. at the time, i wasnt listening to the radio enough and i was just starting to figure out the genre of music i liked and what bands i liked listening to. It was there searchin through those p2p sites those years ago(back with the original napster) that i found out i liked Matt Good’s music.

There was always one issue every time i was downloading hundreds of songs…the inevitability that i’d download a virus that would KO my computer. Every time it happenned, i had to re download the music i wanted, and then get hit with another virus…KO’ing my computer once again. When it happenned twice in one week; i found that buying the cds would actually save me the effort it took to wipe my computer clean, reinstall everything, and download those songs. Also i’d have hard copies of the music incase the possibility of a virus KO’ed my computer again. since then i stopped downloading songs, i now have almost every matt good cd, and many many other little silver circles laying around all over the place in my room.

now a thought:

as to why i was stealing the music when i was a kid? it was because i had no money, so at the time buying music was way too expensive for me when i got maybe 5 dollars a week…so with those cds costing 15 to 20 bucks, to me, that was 3-4 weeks to make enough money…providing i had not spent some on food or hotwheels cars….lol

the rip sounds like you are singing underwater LOL. It was ripped at 112kb

As always I’ll be buying the physical CD. Many artists, such as Matt, make great music and share it with the rest of world and as such they deserve to be rewarded via compensation but also, IMO, with our gratitude. The enjoyment I receive from listening to and/or relating to music and lyrics are well worth the cost of a CD. I wish the artists got more of the money but I can’t control that. Many of us here likely feel the same.

The Internet has introduced exciting new opportunities and challenges in distribution as well as moral considerations for some people. One person might not make much of a difference but doing what is right is always right. Consequently, I buy music and enjoy the experience each artist has elected to share with or create for us.

As for digital distribution, while convenient, call me old school but I wish we had had more high resolution material and therefore I’ll buy a CD whenever possible and rip it for my iPod if I want portability. The failure of SACD and DVD-Audio, while not unexpected in the iTunes age, was disappointing.

I would love to hear Matt’s music as closely to the way he created it in the studio as possible. In my case, that currently is a CD shipped from Canada to the US and I look forward to July 31st for Hospital Music. In the meantime I will listen to the stream he graciously shared in the manner he has currently approved it to be heard, via his web site or iTunes Radio and I will do so graciously.

I just realized you stated above that Avalanche barely sold over 50,000 copies. Is that true? That’s just insane. Is that including I-Tunes purchases? I mean, that was a masterpiece man. I’m speechless.

Okay, time for a confession..

I re-discovered Matt last fall. I had previously bought the Underdogs and Beautiful Midnight CDs way back when. So when I re-discovered MG, I decided to purchase the Avalanche album off of iTunes. I loved it. So what about the other stuff I missed? I found it somewhere and downloaded it. Realized the quality of the material and ordered the CDs from Amazon. There ya go.

I forget the logic behind all this but I think it was along the lines of “Wow! I think it’s worth having my own CD of this stuff!”

I have trouble seeing how this is nothing but an issue of respect.

If the artist wishes to SHARE his work for free, by letting you stream an album or song online, then great, be thankful & respectful and listen in.

I’m fairly certain the artist, in this case Matt, is also quite capable of setting up his website so that you can download/copy the entire album or a number of songs for free. (It’s not like we’ve all got some secret technology that he doesn’t). However, sometimes, such as this time, he might choose not to. And yet some decide to ignore this wish. So apart from the physical act of stealing, you’re also demonstrating rather unpleasent character by showing zero respect for the artist’s choice.

And if you think you’re doing the artist a favour by spreading the word with free copies or downloads or what have you - perhaps. But just because you think you’re being helpful, doesn’t mean you are. If you do me the favour of cooking me a steak dinner, you may in fact be doing me no favour at all if I’m a vegetarian. Maybe you’ve introduced ten new fans, but maybe you’ve burnt up five album sales. “Oh, well, they wouldn’t have known to by the album in the first place,” maybe you say. Well, why not instead of giving them a burnt copy, point them to the website where they can hear the streaming album or a few songs for free?

Ultimately, I believe & shall have a hard time not believing, that these choices of how their art is presented & shared belong to the artist. And we’ve seen a lot of generosity lately. Be it Matt’s streaming of his entire amazing album. Or the fact that you can preview 30 seconds of any track for free at iTunes. I’ve bought albums that instead of the tiny “All Rights Reserved etc” speech on the back, they say “please copy & share this with all of your friends”. I’ve been to shows where it’s $20 buys you up to five albums. You just want one for yourself - $20. You know three friends who’d absolutely love this music - $20 for 4.

Artists are being very generous these days. And yet somehow enough is never enough…. I’ve got no problem if an artist wants to give me their work for free. I’ve also got no problem if they’d rather not. It’s their art - their choice. Artists choose how to share & present their work, we as consumers then choose who to support.

Just because you can do something doesn’t make it right. Must I argue such simple things? Just because you can steal music for free online, doesn’t mean you should. Just because there are guns in the world, it doesn’t make killing right. And, for fuck’s sake, just because you’ve got an 80 GB iPod, doesn’t mean you’ve got the right to not pay full price for music. (From above -”It’s simply unreasonable to expect people to pay to fill their 80 gig iPods - at a dollar a song, the end price is crazy” - sorry Wolfrider, I don’t know you, you could be a great person, but c’mon - unreasonable??? really??? So you bought the largest of huge fridges - Do you now deserve discounted beer & orange juice???)

Please - Can’t we all just respect and honour the choices of the artists we claim to love as we would the wishes of our dearest friends?

Sorry for the extremely long post. I assure you this is the short version.
Maybe I feel too strongly because I’m an artist who realizes how difficult it is, how much work it takes, to create something you feel passionately about. Maybe I’m too into the whole treat-others-like-you’d-wanna-be-treated line of thought. Maybe I’m just tired of having this argument with my roommate who burns a stack of 50 discs and then sends them to his sister as a birthday gift. Maybe I’m still blown away by the fact that i can buy 12 or 15 brilliant songs for $10-$15!!!!!!! I mean, even if you’re working for minimum wage, you’re paying little more than an hour’s work for a lifetime music - not to mention the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and memories that it brings.

Anyway - Thanks Matt, for letting me hear Hospital Music. All I could say was “Wow”. I find myself engulfed by honesty I have not bathed in for much, much too long. Looking forward to July 31st & the next live show.

Nick

That I want you to keep making records is why I purchased Born Losers on iTunes the other day. After reading this, I’ll probably purchase some more of your catalogue on iTunes though I own the physical CDs.

All this despite the fact that I really hate all of the patently annoying restrictions that come with music downloaded from iTunes (which, it seems to me, are both a fool’s game and will eventually be the big 4 record companies’ downfall. That or suing grannies & college kids to try and make a point).

Earlier today I googled for “I’m not safer than a bank” and saw the aforementioned torrents, and yes, it’s tempting, if only to be able to listen to “Boy Come Home” on loop. Regardless I’m still purchasing a copy, maybe several. Both for the sake of a higher fidelity recording and the fact that I want you to keep doing what you do best.

Peace.

Administrator Tony, sir, I think you broke the comments. Or am I the only one who sees everything out of alignment following the youtube video? I’m on Firefox if that matters.

As for the topic at hand, I tend to group music into three categories: Good enough to buy, good enough to download, and good enough to delete. Matt has always been in the Buy section. I don’t even need to preview his music first; he always delivers the goods.

Side note: availability on torrent doesn’t appear to be having an immediate effect if amazon is any indication. As of right now Hospital Music is hovering on amazon.ca’s sales rank around #2/#3, and that’s on preorders alone with a month left to go before release. I don’t know if that means much, but your fanbase seems alive and well, Mr Good.

I wonder if the stream rip will inadvertently have a positive effect on sales. Once the album comes out people will be looking for it on P2P, then may end up with the low quality stream version instead, which may encourage them to just go buy the CD. (Didn’t music companies try this, flooding the P2P networks with inferior versions of songs just to frustrate downloaders? I wonder if it had any effect.)

I’m with alanrob on the DRM issue. As far as I’m concerned, preventing me from ripping a legitimately-purchased CD to my MP3 player equates to a faulty disc that will be returned. (I wouldn’t do that with Hospital Music, of course, but ONLY because it’s special special.)

There is no doubt that I will be purchasing a copy, no matter how I hear the album before hand.

Quoting wynne:

Quoting BuffaloJones:

If only you had copies of the material from your early demos, Matt. I’d pay quite a bit for higher quality remastered versions of those. Released independently I’d say it would help pay the bills and give fans a first-hand insight into your more humble beginnings.

I agree - you deserve my money for making music that I enjoy listening to, even if it has never been commercially released. It’s yours, it’s awesome, and you deserve compensation.

I agree and you can count me as another would-be buyer of this material as well.

ALSO sometimes downloading is the only way to get access to an artists music or if the album is out of print.

Whether or not anyone is reading this post anymore… I thought “can’t get shot in the back” was supposed to be on the album, was I mistaken, or did it get cut out?

Dear Matt.. the day that the full album began streaming on the site.. i began listening to it, as you intended us to. But i love Matt Good and i had to have the files to listen to on my iPod.. so i went and downloaded the torrent that was already available. and i must say im very thankful that people do this and share the music.

I must make it absolutely clean as well.. that i intend on buying a copy the day it is released in stores, and plan on supporting at least 2 shows on the upcoming tour (i know the majority of money artists make is through touring).

I would also prefer to maybe purchase the album directly from matt.. so the middle man doesnt get any money. im sure you will offer that on the site as well.

To be honest though.. i do download a lot of media and i do not in turn buy the actual copies… why, its too expensive and i make just above minimum wage. if i were to buy every movie, game and record that i wanted, i would need hundreds of thousands of dollars.. and to be perfectly honest, most of this stuff is not worth the price of admission, hence i have a very good reason to download it for free. If more entertainment that was released to the public was of a higher standard, then maybe i would feel obliged to spend my hard earned money on it.

As it stands right now.. Matthew Good’s albums are the only music i have bought in the last 10 years. Although i feel shamed for a few of my other favorite artists that i have stolen from :( i just cant afford it!!

here’s my two bits on the issue:

am i downloading the torrent? yes. will it stop be from buying the album? no. (pre-ordered already). as it happens, i got into matt’s music through a friend giving me a lot of downloaded stuff about 5 years ago - then went out and bought every single cd there was, including a copy of loser anthems i paid an obscene amount of money for…

quality was a consideration, not to mention the obvious fact that you need to register you support for an artist that doesn’t pander to lowest common denominator taste in order to sell 17 billion records (long list that one), and hope enough people will do same in order for said artist to keep having the opportunity to release music…

and my only complaint is i can’t come to any shows! i lived in the uk, now live in greece, so my only option is to travel to canada, which i can’t do this year coz i’m working till october and then my passport gets temporarily revoked until i do my bloody national service… but the plan is there for when touring starts for the next album… fingers crossed…