Bjork Hopes Pirates Crack Her New Music App, But Perhaps She Should Have Made It More Widely Available

from the why-wait? dept

Fri, Aug 5th 2011 1:07am — Mike Masnick

Apparently, famed Icelandic singer Bjork's latest album was released only as an app -- and only for Apple's iOS platform (iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch), meaning anyone who wants to get the music in another format is out of luck... unless they get it through unauthorized means. In response to some of the criticism, Bjork has now said that she assumes those who want the music on other platforms will "pirate" it:

�I�m not supposed to say this, probably,� she told Drowned in Sound, �but I�m trusting that the pirates out there won�t tie their hands behind their back.�

Two thoughts on this:

At least she doesn't seem upset or annoyed that people will get these tracks through unauthorized means -- in fact, she almost appears to be encouraging it.
However, it seems like it's still a pretty short-sighted move. She clearly knows that other people will want the music who don't have access to the platform -- and while she calls them "pirates," most people would just call them fans, who aren't being well served by Bjork. So rather than "embracing" the unauthorized cracking of the iOS app, why not release the music in a format others can use so that they can pay for it if they want to?

It's always nice to see artists not freak out about unauthorized access, but in this case it seems like much of it was entirely avoidable.

Update: Someone in the comments claims that the album will be released in a bunch of different formats. That's not what the original article claimed, and I'm at a loss as to what people are complaining about if it will be released in a variety of formats.

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Filed Under: apps, bjork, music, piracy

22 Comments

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Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 1:44am

Supporting "piracy"?
What's the spread on the number of weeks it takes for someone to get sued for doing exactly what Bjork "told" them to do?

I honestly can't see what anyone involved gets out of this, even any "exclusive content" kudos for Apple would seem a bit limited by such a draconian approach to it that's literally begging to be ripped off.
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PaulT (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 1:48am

Another example of the gulf between artists' understanding of their fans' needs and the understanding of the labels. The marketers think they're being clever, whereas Bjork knows her fans will just get it any way they can, and they're far more likely to pirate than buy an iPhone just to access the app... I think Bjork's reaction is really due to the fact that she's an artist first and a "star" second - she's not driven by blinding greed and so a few "lost sales" don't bother her as long as her music is enjoyed.

The labels really have to understand that while placing restrictions might lead to an apparently spike in sales - be those regional, time or format restrictions - in reality all they're doing is providing a great incentive to pirate for those blocked by the restrictions. Sure, a specialised app is clever and a decent idea, but they have to service the rest of the market at the same time. Offering all to one and none to the other is short-sighted, even if there is some short term gain.
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Wolfgang Senges (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 2:01am

In terms of Bjork's approach to art I assume there indeed is reason to leave portation to fans.

As well as being interested in getting fans involved in participating in art as much as possible by remixing, gaming etc, it takes this approach even step further. Fans are implicitly told to rework the code. And giving that every part in Bjork's art is part of the whole piece of art, fans are even participating in collaborating and evolving the technology part of it.

It's straight forward and consistent. Love that. Just hoping that their fans are not just taking Android or whatevs in account, but also HTML5. Now THAT would be awesome.
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mike allen (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 2:30am

did Bjork actually agree to this or is it the label marketing team. My guess is the labal marketing team and Bjork's hands are tied by contract.
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Mike, 5 Aug 2011 @ 2:34am

This article is factually inaccurate. Biophilia is a multimedia project which will be released through CD's, MP3 downloads, videos, live shows as well as iOS apps. I don't think they're making Android/Windows Phone versions of it but who really cares, I commend her for her pushing boundries in music publishing.

Surprised there hasn't been a bit more fact checking on this!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_(album)

The album is "partly recorded" on an iPad and, as well as a standard CD release,[7] will also be being released in the form of a series of apps.[8] Biophilia will be the world's "first app album" in collaboration with Apple.[9] Bj�rk has described the project as a multimedia collection "encompassing music, apps, internet, installations, and live shows".[10] Material from the album will debut during a concert series to be held this summer at the Manchester International Festival.[4]
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ThatAVGuy (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 3:29am

Re:
Thats what I was thinking - Wouldn't suprise me at all if this was the case.
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TN, 5 Aug 2011 @ 3:59am

Re:
agree
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TN, 5 Aug 2011 @ 4:01am

Re:
oops.. I mean, I agree with mike's guess.
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Mike Masnick (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 4:08am

Re:
I added an update to the post, but I'm confused. The original article clearly states that it will only be released as an iOS offering, and if it's going to be released in so many other platforms, what were people complaining about that made Bjork make these statements.
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Mike, 5 Aug 2011 @ 4:18am

Re: Re:
That's not the way I read it: The original article is only pointing out that the iOS app wasn't ported to other mobile platforms, but states:

Biophilia is a multi-media project comprising a studio album and an app featuring a game for each of the 10 new tracks, as well as a new website, custom-made musical instruments, live performances, and educational workshops.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 4:22am

Re: Re:
From the Wikipedia page.
""Biophilia" for iPad will include around ten separate apps, all housed within one "mother" app.[11] Each of the smaller apps will relate to a different track from the album, allowing people to explore and interact with the song's themes or even make a completely new version of them. It will also be an evolving entity that will grow as and when the album's release schedule dictates, with new elements added."

It is an album release and an "experience" release. The issue might be the fact that the evolving portion of the release is limited strictly to iOS. While there will be a CD release, there will be a much more interesting and diverse experience available to people who have iOS driven items. While iThingys are prevalent, there is still exclusion of people who can not/do not own an iThingy. There are people who like the alternative programs not approved by the mothership, who will be denied access.

This was an attempt at connecting with the fans... but only those fans who have iThingys still locked into the Apple approved world.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Aug 2011 @ 4:48am

Re:
Who really cares? Bj�rk fans, like me, who use android and would never consider an apple product?

Oh and I'm sure some of the 550000 new Android owners per day are Bj�rk fans, too. if I recall correctly that's 300000 more per day than iOS which makes me wonder why you would limit access to the app to a platform with less people, and therefore potentially less of your fans. But then again, she did it in collaboration with apple. I would assume they approached her and not the other way around.

While the music may be available, the "experience" will not be available to me, and I am not going to buy an iOS device just to do so. Might be what apple is thinking.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Aug 2011 @ 4:50am

Re:
Who really cares? Bj�rk fans, like me, who use android and would never consider an apple product?

Oh and I'm sure some of the 550000 new Android owners per day are Bj�rk fans, too. if I recall correctly that's 300000 more per day than iOS which makes me wonder why you would limit access to the app to a platform with less people, and therefore potentially less of your fans. But then again, she did it in collaboration with apple. I would assume they approached her and not the other way around.

While the music may be available, the "experience" will not be available to me, and I am not going to buy an iOS device just to do so. Might be what apple is thinking.
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Nicedoggy, 5 Aug 2011 @ 5:11am

People apparently are complaining about a SOFTWARE(i.e. app) that will only be available to iOS(IOW: iPhone, iPad, only) and not to a variety of platforms.

Not the music in specific the APP!

Quote:
Biophilia is a multi-media project comprising a studio album and an app featuring a game for each of the 10 new tracks, as well as a new website, custom-made musical instruments, live performances, and educational workshops.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Aug 2011 @ 5:55am

Re:
Dedicated fans will want the full experience, not just the music.
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Dan, 5 Aug 2011 @ 6:07am

app album?
Honest to god, who the hell wants to listen to an album through an app only? Are these people retarded? So much for shuffling with other music, adding specific tracks to your favorite mix, etc. Dumb dumb dumb.
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Nicedoggy, 5 Aug 2011 @ 6:22am

Re: app album?
Quote:
featuring a game for each of the 10 new tracks, as well as a new website, custom-made musical instruments, live performances, and educational workshops.
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Nicedoggy, 5 Aug 2011 @ 6:25am

Re: Re:
Exactly, that is why they are complaining about it, only being available on the iOS and not in other platforms like PC's, Android and so forth.

At least that was why I understood from the original linked article. That they were talking about the software side of things and not only the music album per se.
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Nicedoggy, 5 Aug 2011 @ 6:28am

Re: Re:
Now one have to be really, really dedicated to go out and buy an iPhone or an iPad just to get that app now.

Those probably are more likely to become creepy stalkers too.
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mdmadph (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 6:43am

"So rather than "embracing" the unauthorized cracking of the iOS app, why not release the music in a format others can use so that they can pay for it if they want to?"

Because we wouldn't be talking about it.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Aug 2011 @ 8:37am

Re: Re: Re:
Me either.

The post, and this blog for that matter, is a sloppy "we promote and support music piracy" joke.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 5 Aug 2011 @ 9:24am

While it is remote, there is a possibility that Bjork is/was unaware that there exists no way to export the iThingy based things to other systems.

Bjork is an artist, not a programmer.

Bjork was shown some neat things it could do and liked it. They created this expansive experience that could grow and connect with the fans, and now Bjork has been confronted with the sad truth that not all of her fans can participate.

To recap -

The App is NOT the only way to get the music.

(deep breath)

The ONLY way to get the entire experience created to go with the music that will evolve is the iOS App.
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