Originally Posted by
poro765
I meant absolutely no offense. I get where you're coming from, and I apologize if you feel offended.
Also, the Deviations comment was not a response to you. Only the first paragraph was.
With that being said, the lack of digital downloads when it comes to King Crimson are the band's or Robert Fripp's decision, and I support it.
First of all, if someone is, or is to be interested in a band like King Crimson, they would be not against buying the physical product.
Ripping CDs are not rocket science, nor ripping DVDs or blu-rays. They are all digital copies of the original. Lack of digital versions? I don't think so.
And recently King Crimson made a lot of live albums available on Spotify, which represents the band much better compared to studio recordings, according to Fripp.
30th anniversary remasters with exclusive bonus tracks for iTunes were available from the beginning.
Those, in my opinion, should be more than enough to test the waters before a potential fan decides to dive in.
Also, I think King Crimson is not a band for the masses - it's actually a band for a subset of a subset of a group of music enthusiasts. Especially in 2019.
If someone wants to listen to music, let alone KC music, only through Youtube or Spotify, I can say, with confidence, that person won't care about the difference between SW's remix or the original mix.
If not, buy the CD and rip it. Problem solved. Same price or less compared to iTunes, and you get lossless files with a booklet, liner notes written by Sid Smith. Worth every penny.
Deviations is also a niche product, not for the masses of NIN fans. Same logic applies. That's why I mentioned it.