Costello "official" website

[sweetest punch]

Just received this email:
We're pleased to announce the expansion of ElvisCostello.com!
Do stop by to enjoy a host of newly launched sections and features, including:
NEWS - Keep up to date with Elvis like never before in the revamped News & Journals sections. We've added some new features to the NEWS page, including PRESS, BIO, and a News ARCHIVE. On top of that, we've added a calendar for news and events, a Search box, and RSS subscription capabilities so you can keep track of Elvis Costello news via your favorite feed-reader like Google Reader or on your "My Yahoo" page.

MEDIA - The new and improved ElvisCostello.com features an expansive MEDIA section, with audio tracks, video footage, photo galleries and assorted downloads. You can find audio clips from Momofuku, photos from the Momofuku studio sessions and Elvis's recent performance with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and plenty more to come in the near future.

Members of ElvisCostello.com will enjoy offerings that won't be available to the general public, so be sure to stay tuned for regular updates to the MEDIA page.

DISCOGRAPHY - One of the major additions to the new site is the exhaustive Elvis Costello discography. We compiled the massive Elvis Costello catalog, sparing no detail, and encapsulated his body of work on one convenient page. Browse by album or song, peruse the collaborations and compilations Elvis participated in along the way, pull up lyrics for each and every tune, and get familiar with EC's epic catalog in no time.

CONTESTS

The CONTESTS page will host each of the contests and giveaways that we'll be running on ElvisCostello.com. The first contest is open to anyone - just sign up for the Elvis Costello newsletter and you will automatically be entered to win an autographed copy of Momofuku on vinyl.

Stay tuned to the contests page for more great giveaways in coming weeks and months.

ELVIS COSTELLO.COM MEMBERSHIP & COMMUNITY

Premium Content

Members of Elvis Costello's fan club will be treated to a number of great features on the website only available to them. Join ElvisCostello.com today and you will instantly have full access to all of the new sections and content available on the website, including members-only audio, videos, photos, journals, and more.

Want a taste of the kind of goodies that members will be treated to on a regular basis? We're currently featuring videos from Elvis's "secret" concert at the El Rey Theatre in LA, as well as the infamous 30:10 recordings. 30:10 has never been officially released, so the only way to hear these rare Costello classics is on ElvisCostello.com! Sign up today to start enjoying all that ElvisCostello.com has to offer!

Access to Advance Ticket Pre-Sales

ElvisCostello.com is proud to offer fan club members first access to Elvis Costello concert tickets whenever possible. When Elvis is on the road, members will be the first to know, and will be the first to be able to buy tickets through our members-only pre-sales.

Elvis Costello Community

Become a part of Elvis' online community of fans - stop by the ElvisCostello.com Community section to interact with fellow fans and personalize your presence on the site. Customize your profile, add friends and send messages, and enjoy all the other great features of Elvis' community.

To take full advantage of the community, you will have to sign up for an ElvisCostello.com membership.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feedback

Please know that the website is still an ongoing project. You can expect plenty more content and features in the months ahead. But if you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, don't hesitate to send us an email.

If you have any questions, please try our FAQs page for Frequently Asked Questions or send us an email (help@elviscostello.com).


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOUR DATES & EVENTS


DATE CITY/STATE VENUE INFO
09/30 Los Angeles, CA Jimmy Kimmel Live! MORE INFO
10/05 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival FREE SHOW MORE INFO


We know you will enjoy the new website, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Cheers!

[woz]

Just got the same email. Signed in but couldn't see either of the El Rey videos. Has anyone been able to see them online?

Thanks.

[always dancing]

Just got an email mail about Elvis's new improved web page

We're pleased to announce the expansion of ElvisCostello.com!

Do stop by to enjoy a host of newly launched sections and features, including:





NEWS - Keep up to date with Elvis like never before in the revamped News & Journals sections. We've added some new features to the NEWS page, including PRESS, BIO, and a News ARCHIVE. On top of that, we've added a calendar for news and events, a Search box, and RSS subscription capabilities so you can keep track of Elvis Costello news via your favorite feed-reader like Google Reader or on your "My Yahoo" page.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




MEDIA - The new and improved ElvisCostello.com features an expansive MEDIA section, with audio tracks, video footage, photo galleries and assorted downloads. You can find audio clips from Momofuku, photos from the Momofuku studio sessions and Elvis's recent performance with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and plenty more to come in the near future.

Members of ElvisCostello.com will enjoy offerings that won't be available to the general public, so be sure to stay tuned for regular updates to the MEDIA page.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




DISCOGRAPHY - One of the major additions to the new site is the exhaustive Elvis Costello discography. We compiled the massive Elvis Costello catalog, sparing no detail, and encapsulated his body of work on one convenient page. Browse by album or song, peruse the collaborations and compilations Elvis participated in along the way, pull up lyrics for each and every tune, and get familiar with EC's epic catalog in no time.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTESTS

The CONTESTS page will host each of the contests and giveaways that we'll be running on ElvisCostello.com. The first contest is open to anyone - just sign up for the Elvis Costello newsletter and you will automatically be entered to win an autographed copy of Momofuku on vinyl.




Stay tuned to the contests page for more great giveaways in coming weeks and months.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ELVIS COSTELLO.COM MEMBERSHIP & COMMUNITY

Premium Content

Members of Elvis Costello's fan club will be treated to a number of great features on the website only available to them. Join ElvisCostello.com today and you will instantly have full access to all of the new sections and content available on the website, including members-only audio, videos, photos, journals, and more.

Want a taste of the kind of goodies that members will be treated to on a regular basis? We're currently featuring videos from Elvis's "secret" concert at the El Rey Theatre in LA, as well as the infamous 30:10 recordings. 30:10 has never been officially released, so the only way to hear these rare Costello classics is on ElvisCostello.com! Sign up today to start enjoying all that ElvisCostello.com has to offer!

Access to Advance Ticket Pre-Sales

ElvisCostello.com is proud to offer fan club members first access to Elvis Costello concert tickets whenever possible. When Elvis is on the road, members will be the first to know, and will be the first to be able to buy tickets through our members-only pre-sales.

Elvis Costello Community

Become a part of Elvis' online community of fans - stop by the ElvisCostello.com Community section to interact with fellow fans and personalize your presence on the site. Customize your profile, add friends and send messages, and enjoy all the other great features of Elvis' community.

To take full advantage of the community, you will have to sign up for an ElvisCostello.com membership.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feedback

Please know that the website is still an ongoing project. You can expect plenty more content and features in the months ahead. But if you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, don't hesitate to send us an email.

If you have any questions, please try our FAQs page for Frequently Asked Questions or send us an email (help@elviscostello.com).


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOUR DATES & EVENTS


DATE CITY/STATE VENUE INFO
09/30 Los Angeles, CA Jimmy Kimmel Live! MORE INFO
10/05 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival FREE SHOW MORE INFO


We know you will enjoy the new website, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Cheers!

So I checked out the site the only new thing is a video I think. The community site is the same. The ticket give away for Sept 15th wasn't there, that was a seperate email. Funny how the email got sent while I was at the show tonight (Wed Sept 10th) I sent a message to the email above (I think it is the same one we have been sending to) that the community site doesn't work and told them to check out the comments

[always dancing]

I am watching Stella Hurt now. you have to love the drums

[Deportee]

Will need more than this to convince this Scotsman to part with hard-earned dosh. I'm as big a Who fan as EC fan and it took the exclusive double live Cd to make me join, then they threw in a tshirt as well - great stuff and well worth the $50.00. Depends what they offer come renewal time if I resubscribe or not.

As for the EC site, if they offered the 30:10 sessions as a physical CD for subscribers only I'd sign up. Would probably do so if it was FLAC downloadable. My PC is in a bedroom. I'm not one for spending hours online listening to streams or looking at videos etc, with poor sound and picture quality. I've spent out on a decent hifi I'd much rather have a CD/DVD to play on a decent sound system and good sized screen. I'm old school when it comes to having something in my hands with artwork etc. There's loads of exclusive content on the Who site that I haven't looked at. If it's there forever, great, but if content is only up for a limited time, I'm likely to miss it. If stuff is downloadable - that's different. Gov't Mule do "MuleTracks" - recordings of practically every concert with PDFs of artwork for the jewel cases, but that's a commercial venture open to all, but it's the type of additional extra I'd be happy to pay for over and above a membership, instead of a dodgy (although free) audience recording.

Still not convinced that costello.com is worth subscribing to. My blind loyalty to everything EC related ain't what it used to be!

[always dancing]

So I joined the web site, as you remember because I thought it would help me get tickets to 'The Spectacle'.... WRONG. I got my rejection quick enough. This is the second time I got rejected by Elvis. Got the email about the give away 5:30PM but didn't read it and respond until 9:30PM. The tickets I got to 'The Spectacle' this week were from Rufus's give away and Elton's give away. NOT ELVIS's giveaway. I have to be one of the first members. This membership thing sucks.

[verbal gymnastics]

I'm perversely pleased to read these comments - only because it helps me justify the decision not to join.

And I too am not the obsessive I once was. I haven't even bothered buying the latest This Year's Model reissue. I'm waiting for a bargain bin.

[CostelLover]

So I joined the web site, as you remember because I thought it would help me get tickets to 'The Spectacle'.... WRONG. I got my rejection quick enough. This is the second time I got rejected by Elvis. Got the email about the give away 5:30PM but didn't read it and respond until 9:30PM. The tickets I got to 'The Spectacle' this week were from Rufus's give away and Elton's give away. NOT ELVIS's giveaway. I have to be one of the first members. This membership thing sucks.

I hear ya.

Well, at least you got to see two tapings of "The Spectacle" (great name, btw), even if it was no thanks to EC's "official" website. Lucky you, and I'm every shade of jealous green!

Am I being naive for thinking that Elvis should be aware by now how badly the management of his site sucks? I would have thought he'd find out, sooner or later. Hopefully the next time he makes another one of those "blog entry" thingies, he'll wander into the Community section and read some of our grievances there.

Yeah, I know.... I'm being naive.

[always dancing]

Well, they are making some changes to the site. Do you think it is because of us? Right The community site does look alittle different. The buttons are still invisible and the site still thinks I am under 18. Nice. By now you know there is a new blog but only for self promotion for something else for us to buy. Also a couple of videos.

[cwr]

It definitely seems like someone took the initiative to get rid of the function that makes all our complaining comments appear in the "lobby" of the community section. Now there's just a banner ad for the digital releases of Out Of Our Idiot and Taking Liberties....

Maybe this means that they'll actually put something decent on the site soon. Or maybe not. Time will tell...

[always dancing]

Your right and that has happened since the morning. But where did our posts go? How do we see other's post? I did a new post and it only shows on my profile page that I can tell. And than it disappeared in about a minute. I like the disclaimer.

This section of the website allows you to interact with other Elvis Costello fans. You can edit your profile, share your interests, upload photos and videos, and make some new friends.

Please keep in mind that this feature of the website is still in beta launch, so there are bound to be a few hiccups. If you find a bug or have a suggestion, please report it using our Beta Feedback page.

Thanks!

[CostelLover]

Not to beat a dead horse, but.....

The invisible buttons are now visible.

You can now access the profiles of other members, but apparently only if you've "friended" them. (no more "User is under the age of 18" mumbo-jumbo)

Posts still can't be seen by the general public, which has me thinking that somebody got tired of being raked over the coals due to their shoddy customer service. You can still post, but it can only be seen by you, or by those you've "friended".

That's all.......... for now.

[johnfoyle]

Elvis Costello Subscriber News
Thursday, 2 April, 2009 12:02 PM

From:
"Elvis Costello" <info@elviscostellouk.com>

The expression, "a dog's breakfast" comes to mind.

If you don't know it, then I'm sure you can look it up on the internet. Perhaps you're better at these things than I have proven to be. I got into rock and roll to get away from computers.

Nevertheless, the most recent version of "www.elviscostello.com" started out with the best intentions and we thank our friends at Ultrastar for their efforts but I have come to the conclusion that this model is never going to work for me, so we are shutting it down.

So, gentle subscriber, we thank you for your interest and must offer you one of two options.

The first is a full refund of your subscription.

The second is a credit for download features on a new site which is currently under construction.

It will no longer be subscription based but will offer unique content for download, both free items and those for which payment will be required.

Given your recent experience, I'd take the money and run, I just wouldn't spend it all at once on those overpriced reissues people are always trying to sell you...

Steal everything you can.

You can only go to hell once...

Your Fiend Indeed, Elvis Costello

[always dancing]

Well John beat me to this...might be that the sun rises in Ireland before the states...so now how do we get a refund? Any ideas.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Glad I never took the plunge.

[thepopeofpop]

First we need some kind of confirmation that this isn't just a belated April Fools joke.

The letter is written in Elvis' style, but... emails can be faked. Despite the sender being "info@elviscostellouk.com" a quick examination of the email headers indicates that it actually came from a Yahoo mail server - although that doesn't prove anything one way or another, since lots of people use Yahoo to send bulk mail.

I'll believe it's true when I get something from the site itself directing me to some page, or whatever, where I can get a refund. Given their past performance in running the site I wouldn't hold my breath on this being done any time soon!

[cwr]

If you go to the main page at elviscostello.com, they have removed the banner that previously said "Want more out of ElvisCostello.com?" which linked to the membership info...

So that seems to confirm it. It's a classy move on EC's part-- he could have easily just walked away from it, but he's also clearly smart enough to know that the relatively small number of people who joined up and paid their $35 to join are likely ALL drawn from the pool of people who buy his CDs, concert tickets, merchandise, etc. It wouldn't really do much good to have a bunch of fans feeling like they'd been taken for a ride.

Several months back, I had posted a kind of warning to fans on the page that is all that remains of my former "Bright Blue Times" website-- truthfully, it was part warning/part RANT -- laying out the various ways that the website's membership program had failed, just in case there was anyone out there about to part with their money and join up.

Now that EC's gone and done the right thing, I've replaced the rant by giving him full credit for the move, and with some anticipatory thoughts regarding the new album, along with a few YouTube clips that I think set the stage nicely for its upcoming release...

http://www.astheygo.com/elviscostello.htm

Costello's whole website deal started out last year with such promise, I hope they're able to figure out a way to make it work for everybody involved-- a format that EC is comfortable with, and one that allows him to communicate whenever and however he wants. Really, his official website should be just an amazing thing for someone like him-- a way to communicate worldwide, instantaneously-- it's unfortunate that he hasn't yet struck upon a comfortable way to use it to his advantage. (Of course, Prince has been at this game a lot longer than EC has, and he's still having enormous difficulties with it. And as far as I know, the Purple One hasn't offered to refund any of the "lifetime memberships" people bought to one of his previous, now defunct web ventures...)

[johnfoyle]

Just to be contrary I'm not going to look for a refund. I'm curious to see how and if the 'credit for download features on a new site' will work. I'm guessing Elvis thinks everyone will look for a refund and it'll be a real hassle for the credits option to be honoured.

Payback!

[MOJO]

Good one, John. Why not let a few dangling fans prolong the agony of what was a very lame ec domain site. I plan to rollover my subscription, but don't expect to see that transition happen. I'll just coast along until a new website surfaces and take it from there.

[woz]

I'll let my $ stay with them but how do we actually selected that option. It's really too bad that this didn't take off.

The entire free show at the El Rey this summer in Los Angeles was taped (not just the two they elected to post on the site) and it would have been great to get that show. I was fortunate to be up against the stage (thanks to my fellow Costello friends here in L.A. for making space for me) and it was just an amazing night.

Anyway, hopefully the next iteration will be better.

Cheers.

[thepopeofpop]

\It's a classy move on EC's part-- he could have easily just walked away from it, but he's also clearly smart enough to know that the relatively small number of people who joined up and paid their $35 to join are likely ALL drawn from the pool of people who buy his CDs, concert tickets, merchandise, etc. It wouldn't really do much good to have a bunch of fans feeling like they'd been taken for a ride.

Yes, I agree that it is a thoughtful and considerate move by EC. It's good to "play nice" with the hardcore fans. Yes ... I buy a lot of his stuff. I bought Momofuku on LP and CD, for example. Although that was partly due to the LP ending up in storage in another country! But yes, I opted to buy it again on CD rather than opting for "other means" of obtaining it.

EC must be aware that that we hardcore fans still buy his albums - the problem is attracting new fans, as the failure of the Universal remasters would indicate. Obviously very few of us are "hardcore" enough to buy something we already own, just because it is in a new package. Mind you - the "My Aim Is True" Deluxe Edition was pretty darn good, and I certainly stumped up the cash for that.

Just tagging on a live album doesn't necessarily provide the required incentive - I think we'd rather just buy the live stuff as a separate package, to be honest - we want more previously unheard stuff like those "My Aim Is True" solo studio demos.

Clearly the reissue/remaster program has been a disappointment - there has been no announcement of an Armed Forces "Deluxe Edition", and it's now April, so it's somewhat overdue - and none of the other "theme" repackagings of his catalogue that were promised have been forthcoming.

The new album (Secret, Profane & Sugarcane) is being released by Hear Music (aka Starbucks) so clearly Universal are out of the picture for EC's new releases. I guess this doesn't increase Universal's enthusiasm for issuing Deluxe Editions,
since they don't get any cross-promotional benefit in terms of new album sales.

So - what should EC do about his "internet presence"? I think we are all aware that a golden opportunity exists for him to sell music DIRECTLY to his fanbase. There are undoubtedly projects that would never see release with a major label which could sell a few thousand copies if marketed directly to EC's hardcore fans via a website. I think it would be easy to draw up a list of potential projects:

- Download equivalents of "Boxed Sets/Deluxe Editions" with comprehensive coverage of the recording sessions for key albums. I'm sure there are some people who would pay good money to hear more outtakes from Get Happy, Trust, Imperial Bedroom, King of America and many other fine EC releases. There's also the rehearsals for Imperial Bedroom, from which only one track has surfaced so far.

- Live albums highlighting interesting phases of EC's career. For example, a "Spinning Songbook Tour" package. Many fans never got to see that tour - for example, it never got to Australia or Japan. I think the solo tours of 84/85 would also provide good material - for example, the solo version of Blue Chair that I heard in May 1985 was far superior to any version he's done since (live or studio).

- "Pre-professional" recordings. EC mentioned that there are about 20 recordings, from the year or so prior to My Aim Is True that were thought to be lost, which came to light relatively recently. Since Universal obviously don't want to put them out, why not sell them directly to us (the devoted fanbase)?

Such material could be offered both in MP3 format and also in higher quality FLAC format, or even physical CDs.

I suppose part of the problem for EC is finding someone who can run such an enterprise for him. I think he needs somebody who cares a bit more about his music - not some faceless web jockeys. I'd volunteer, but I doubt he'd want such an obvious fan boy on board. Such is the dilemma that faces EC...

--Paul--

[cwr]

All great ideas. I certainly think that making live recordings available to purchase as downloads makes sense. A lot of people who go to his concerts would be more likely to shell out money to buy a copy of the concert than to buy a t-shirt or any of the usual merch that is available during a tour. And of course there is are fantastic things like the Spinning Songbook or Meltdown that fans would love to get.

There are a lot of things that would be complete failures if he tried releasing them as CDs in shops but that would do quite well if they were simply made available online. The Rhino reissues had so many demos and alternate takes that it's hard to imagine a huge market for a lot more of that material, but if he were to put more of the Imperial Bedroom "rehearsal" tapes on his website, I'd certainly buy a copy of that!

But in addition to using his website to release archival stuff, there are still ways that he could appeal to more than just the hardcore completists. He could easily use his website to release new recordings or interesting cover versions that might attract listeners who couldn't care less about old demos or a live show from 1981.

I'm sort of surprised that EC has yet to experiment with writing, recording and releasing a song all in one day. One would assume that the immediacy of the Internet-- being able to click a button and instantly communicate something to anyone on earth with an Internet connection-- would have sparked his interest. He's still rightly proud of how quickly, for instance, he managed to get "Pills And Soap" into the record shops back in the early 80s-- if he was suddenly inspired to write a song about something, he could conceivably have it up on his website almost immediately. It would be great if there was a sense of playfulness to his website, as if fun things could happen without warning. Costello could conceivably make a stripped-down, bare-bones album or EP or single without anyone knowing it, and release it on his website at 3:00 in the morning, then sit back and watch as people discover it.

Clearly, the "subscription" model didn't work for EC-- it would be great if he could approach the website as just this great platform for communicating. If there was a TV station or radio frequency that he had 24 hour access to, that at any moment he could just go on the airwaves and play a song or say whatever he wanted, is there any doubt that Costello would've taken advantage of that in the past decade? He would've played a live show, or at least premiered a few songs on it. And yet, his website has been mostly dormant for the time it's been in existence. His brief engagement with his site in 2002 was mostly him answering questions from fans and writing long journal entries, and he quickly got tired of that. Personally, I have very little interest in seeing Costello go "interactive" and end up getting into flame wars with Internet people. I'd much rather he treat his website more like a broadcasting medium-- he makes a song, or writes a message, and it goes out to the world through his website, instantly.

[sweetest punch]

I think the main problem is (and was) that his sales figures are not that good. Bob Dylan still manages to sell a few million copies of his albums, but Elvis hardly sells more than 100.000 copies these days. How many copies could he sell of new archival releases (live-albums, reissues,...) these days? And how many downloads could he sell through his own website? He is too "big" as an artist to do everything on his own, and too "small" to be interesting enough for a major label.

[thepopeofpop]

I think the main problem is (and was) that his sales figures are not that good. Bob Dylan still manages to sell a few million copies of his albums, but Elvis hardly sells more than 100.000 copies these days. How many copies could he sell of new archival releases (live-albums, reissues,...) these days? And how many downloads could he sell through his own website? He is too "big" as an artist to do everything on his own, and too "small" to be interesting enough for a major label.

Even Bob is struggling to sell much more than a million. "Modern Times" has sold more a bit more than a million, but that was pretty exceptional. Virtually nobody sells more than a million any more - only a handful of new albums every year crack the magic million since the downturn in the music business.

With the right kind of promotion - maybe this Starbucks thing could work - there's no reason why EC can't sell more.

The main problem with EC selling stuff through a website is that he's probably not allowed to, due to his deal that sells his back catalog through Universal.

Other than that, I see no problem with EC only being able to sell 5000 copies of an archival release through a website because he would get virtually all the money from such a release. In his deal with Universal he only gets a small percentage of each sale. He would make more money selling directly to his fanbase, even if the overall volume was lower. This is the direction the music business is headed anyway.

The way the music business is going there may be no more physical releases of albums within a year or two in the USA on major labels - most big stores in the US are cutting their CD inventories down to zero, and the major record companies in the USA are meekly going along with this and will stop manufacturing CDs fairly soon, since there will be almost nowhere to sell them. Once new releases are all downloads then really, what's the difference? Why would EC need a major label to promote him if his work is only going to be sold via iTunes? You don't need to be on a label to put your album on iTunes. Hell, my album is on iTunes!

[so lacklustre]

Why don't you ask for half your money back and leave the rest, that'll confuse 'em.