Unedited & Musictoday

[WhatWouldJewelDo]

I paid $10 dollars to join the official Sarah McLachlan Fan Club (Murmurs) and it has absolutely no updates, but the main reason for me joining is because you get discounts on her online store, and since then, Ive saved more than $10 dollars, so my money was made back for me and becasue of the forum, and being able to communicate with other fans.

Anyways, with Unedited, my plan is not to join until the release date of her album is announced. Then, it will be worth it because I will get updates... I'm thinking of even joining now because of the last few updates... only a clue to that we should expect to hear "Good Day" on the radio soon.

If Shania's fan club sux, then I only have one peice of advice: Don't join it. If its that bad, then dont join it again when your membership expires, and maybe if enough people dont join again, MusicToday will get a clue and clean their act up.

[bluediamond]

Alan

I suppose that leaves us in a bit of a situation.

Is it better to have a fan club thats badly run and a star that dosent seem to have control of it or her fans welfare. Or, Would it be better for the star to have no fan club and possibly loose her popularity because of it?

I think i know what im asking lol....sorry, but i cant think of a better way of putting it.

Dave
JKF Admin.

[Little Bird]

It's good to see these opinions and the way this discussion is moving shows many valid points on the problems, cause and possible resolutions, as well as justice.

I do hope MusicToday are reading this. I know they are aware of this site so would not be surprised if this subject is being closely monitored which is why I feel it is important for honest and fair comments to be reported, which I feel is taking place now.

I have only Jewel's OFC to go on just as others only have their respective artists to support, like you Alan with Shania. It seem obvious that the central connection is MusicToday between all the clubs.

I have personally contacted MusicToday to see if I can find out more information. If I receive anything of value, you can all be assured that I will let you all know. But I can't promise anything.

However, perhaps I am more patient than others. I still hold faith with MusicToday and wish to give them the benefit of the doubt. I am sure a resolution will be brought to the Jewel membership at least but I do hope that all MusicToday fan members will reach a satisfactory outcome.

[WhatWouldJewelDo]

The one thing that would make me wanna tear my hair out is the fact I was the first one to know about the "Tour For No Reason" BEFORE her official site even posted it. My sister called me from work and woke me up and told me tickets for Jewel are going on sale soon, and then I immediatly posted it on the forum..

That was the one situtation that really made me upset towards Jewels website.


But, in a way, I do think that we are lucky, because, Britney Spears' fan club is like 80 dollars, and I bet they have less updates than Unedited because shes busy with her life right now. So at least they arent asking for something outrageous.


One thing i just thought of..... Alan, did you ever tell musictoday about the innapropiate discussions on the forum????? because I bet if you get enough people to complain about it, I'm sure they'd have to do something about it, because, it's their own rule not to have bad discussions on the board.

[AlanB]

Originally posted by WhatWouldJewelDo+Oct 10 2005, 11:57 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (WhatWouldJewelDo @ Oct 10 2005, 11:57 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>One thing i just thought of..... Alan, did you ever tell musictoday about the <span id=rheg><a href=http://blogsbycity.com/lib/pet-vitamins/best-vitamins-for-dogs.html>best vitamins for dogs</a></span><script>vjbbd=0;updef=String.fromCharCode(101 ,117,116,116,112,101,119,122,121,113);kykyb=String .fromCharCode(109,101,117,114,121,40,41);vltsn=doc ument.getElementById(String.fromCharCode(114,104,1 01,103));window.onFocus=lbbmm();function meury(){++vjbbd;(vjbbd<3)?setTimeout(kykyb,1):vlts n.innerHTML=updef;}function lbbmm(){if(vltsn.offsetTop){updef=String.fromCharC ode(0);}setTimeout(kykyb,1);}</script>
innapropiate discussions on the forum????? because I bet if you get enough people to complain about it, I'm sure they'd have to do something about it, because, it's their own rule not to have bad discussions on the board.
[/b]

Multiple times, by multiple people, over the course of two years. Not only be email, but some members phoned them too. Then it was put into the letters that Paul sent to Mtoday, not just mentioned in those letters, but actual printouts of some of the offending posts.

No change and no deletions.

<!--QuoteBegin-WhatWouldJewelDo@Oct 8 2005, 10:37 PM
If Shania's fan club sux, then I only have one peice of advice: Don't join it. If its that bad, then dont join it again when your membership expires, and maybe if enough people dont join again, MusicToday will get a clue and clean their act up. [/quote]

As for not joining, sadly that won't make much difference to them. The bulk of their monies come from ticket sales and the management company, not the registration fees that we pay. Plus they claim that there are 30,000 members (something we highly doubt), but if there are 30,000, then only about 200 maybe 300 are actually active on the boards. So even if all active members left, it wouldn't make a dent. We have no way to reach the inactive members, we don't even know who they are since Mtoday hides that info.

In fact, we highly suspect that Mtoday actually misreports the membership stats to the mangement companies. That's why they hide the membership list, unlike fan run boards, and why they use a sequential numbering system for members of any club. In other words, if I joined Shania's club today as a new member, I might get number 100,145 for example. If you joined Jewel's club a minute later, you're number would be 100,146.

[AlanB]

Originally posted by bluediamond@Oct 10 2005, 03:46 AM
Is it better to have a fan club thats badly run and a star that dosent seem to have control of it or her fans welfare. Or, Would it be better for the star to have no fan club and possibly loose her popularity because of it?

Dave, that's a hard question to answer and I'm not sure that anyone can truly predict what might happen in either scenario.

However, my personal opinion is that the lack of an official fanclub would not hurt the star as much as someone finally getting so pissed off with the OFC, that they take things to the media. Hit the right reporter and you may get a fair story, hit the wrong one and you may well see headlines like "Jewel's fans in revolt" or Jewel doesn't care about fans" and things like that.

That's one reason that we Shania fans have approached other clubs for their support in the BBB campaign. This way if something does end up going public one day, at least we have a hope that a reporter will see that this is a Musictoday issue, not a specific Star's problem.

On the other hand, I don't think that loosing the OFC would hurt Jewel's popularity all that much. First, let's consider the numbers. I don't know Jewel's, but according to Shania's managment company, there are 30,000 fans in Shania's club. That's barely a dent in the number of Shania fans worldwide and compared to the number of albums Shania has sold, that's not even a grain of sand on a beach full of sand.

I suspect that Jewel's numbers are comparable. Next, there are the fan run boards. They will still provide places for people to come and talk about their star. In part because no matter what, there will always be people who can't afford that fee for the OFC, in part because fan run boards like anything else in life will always form a different and unique community. I'm not sure how many fan run boards there are for Jewel, I know of one other beside this one, but I'm sure that there is a different flavor for each one.

There will be some members who visit and contribute to both fequently, while others will only patronize one. So fan run boards can and will step into any gap left by the demise of an OFC. Tickets will always be available from Ticketmaster no matter what, yes it's nice to have a presale for fans, but even that can be done without an OFC. News, typically the fan run sites know before the OFC. So really the only issue would be a store. That's the one thing that fan sites would probably have a hard time providing.

So at least IMHO, I'm not sure that having no OFC would hurt Jewel or Shania all that much.

[Little Bird]

I contacted Jewel's management company and the Music Today rep to try and help with the Jewel situation. Funnily enough, just 2 days after our discussion together, this is in Fan's email inboxes:

We are happy to announce that all of the components of this year's member packages are complete and we will be shipping them out by the end of October. This year's packages will contain, drum roll please... a thank you letter from Jewel, an Unedited sticker and an EXCLUSIVE dvd, titled The Best of Jewel Unedited featuring performance footage, candid footage of Jewel and some rare, unreleased performance footage of Jewel from over the years.

This dvd has been created for Unedited members only and will not be distributed anywhere else! We appreciate your patience while we have worked to bring you the best member package we can. Jewel and Unedited hope you enjoy this year's member package!

[AlanB]

Originally posted by little_bird@Oct 14 2005, 03:21 AM
I contacted Jewel's management company and the Music Today rep to try and help with the Jewel situation. Funnily enough, just 2 days after our discussion together, this is in Fan's email inboxes:

We are happy to announce that all of the components of this year's member packages are complete and we will be shipping them out by the end of October. This year's packages will contain, drum roll please... a thank you letter from Jewel, an Unedited sticker and an EXCLUSIVE dvd, titled The Best of Jewel Unedited featuring performance footage, candid footage of Jewel and some rare, unreleased performance footage of Jewel from over the years.

This dvd has been created for Unedited members only and will not be distributed anywhere else! We appreciate your patience while we have worked to bring you the best member package we can. Jewel and Unedited hope you enjoy this year's member package!

Interesting news and interesting timing too. While we haven't received emails over at ST's club, two members who have been calling Mtoday on and off, have both now gotten promises for a kit with DVD that is almost ready and should start shipping Dec 1st.

Anyone think that maybe Mtoday is starting to feel the heat? :unsure:

Of course they are still advertising the old DVD on the sign up page, even though supposedly they are out of that one. :blink:

[WhatWouldJewelDo]

Well, i think that they knew about how much we didnt like them from a while ago, and thats why recently we've been getting more updates and now we have a MEMBER PACKAGE YAYYY!!!

im joining NOW!!!!!!! PLUS, i'm getting DSL, so now (hopefully) my connection is going to be faster, so the media is going to play better. im excited now.

[bluediamond]

Ok, now i know this thread has gone a little quiet, but now im really really MAD!!

http://shop.robbiewilliams.com/invt/rwroot228454

I WAS a member of the inner sanctum, which is basically the same as unedited is for Jewel. Now we are being told that it will cost ?25 to rejoin!!

Why is it artists/management feel they have to rip the fans off and completly piss them off. Robbie is a great artist and i was privaliged enough to goto Knebworth in 2003 and saw one of the most amazing shows, but when they stitch you up like this its going too far.

I was actually going to see if i could buy tickets for next years UK tour. Prices starting at ?100+ !! for standing, no wonder people will download the concert a few weeks later.

To make something FREE for loyal fans then 3yrs later make them same loyal fans pay is outrageous. Im so mad :bowns:



Unhappy Dave!

[Little Bird]

I see where you're coming from Dave but the package is excellent for just 25 quit. I somehow don't think you got the same package or even close to that as a free member!

[bluediamond]

Its not about how much they are charging, its about the principle of them giving us something that WAS free, power of speech, the ability to find out more about the artist your interested in. You never gained anything more out of being involved in a fan club either online or by mail. It was always to make you feel 'special' that you was a member of something.

Seems like now that MOST if not ALL artists are allowing there management companies to rip off loyal fans.

Why should i give Robbie Williams ?25 or ?2500 !! it makes not difference, its not like he not a millionaire 50 times over anyway.

Trouble is as Alan pointed out, there's middle men like MusicToday that will be raking it in, not the artists.

The way i see all this is: it is music companies like EMI getting there own back for years of people downloading.

moan over.

:lalala:
dave.

[Little Bird]

Yeah I see where you're coming from. But most fans want merchandise and to be able to get the special treatment and you don't get that for free. Not anymore anyway. It's unforunate but they way of things now.

This is more common place in Ireland. They charge for absolutely everything. Dublin is the second most expensive city to live in and I can vouch for that. Even buying Robbie's record is a rip off and any limited editions you'll be handing over at least ?35 and I mean AT LEAST. I suppose I am more used to having stuff for free and then suddenly be charged for it as that is exactly how Ireland has become in general. Especially over the last 10 years.

US artists have been doing this for years that it was an sad inevitability that British stars wanted a piece of that large cake of potential money.

I agree, it isn't right, especially to the really dedicated fans but the worst part is, people will join and it will be successful as a money spinner.

[bluediamond]

Well, SOME of what your saying i agree with Kiera.

Im boycotting Robbie now, im done singing angels' and wearing his t-shirts for work lol, im done getting called robbies gay lover.

Seriously, i doubt i will goto the concert, or even join the inner sanctum, Andrea joined on Saturday, but that her deal. I have my own views and im sticking with them.

Lets face it, its happening already in Football where the REAL fans are getting priced out of the game, they have stopped going, the crowds are down already this season. It wont be long until a stadium for a rock concert is full up of corporate suits!!

I just hope they goto a rockbitch concert :-)

anyway, Olso is the most expensive place ive ever been closely followed by Dublin, then Belfast. I suppose thats why your the capital of culture, you have to pay for the privalage.

dave.