Link: [MTV News - System's Stolen Tracks Compiled On Steal This Album]

Yeah, this story ran a few weeks ago. But the album still hasn't come out yet, so I think I still have time to rant.

The short story goes like this. Back when System of a Down recorded Toxicity, they recorded a bunch of songs that didn't make the record. They decided to shelve the leftover songs, hoping to pull them back out and re- work them for later releases. However, in the wake of the new era of "anything not under lock and key is fair game for leaks", somebody released the rough mixes of the songs and they made their way around the various file-trading networks.

Generally speaking, there are two rules of thought in this situation. Some bands just say, "Enh, they weren't finished, but, whatever," and continue working on the songs as they were planning to in the first place. The songs eventually see the light of day in reworked form on a future record.

Many major label bands, however, feel that once songs are out, they're out. The "surprise" is ruined, might as well cast them aside. More than one R&B and hip-hop act has reworked an album in the eleventh hour just because a pre-release version hit the Internet a couple of weeks early. (I would readily make the claim that such a move is ridiculous, and that the fans who downloaded it will still buy it when it comes out, but that's a rant for another day.)

In this case, System of a Down has decided that now that these unfinished songs have been made public, they're effectively useless for future albums. So they're giving the songs final mixes and featuring the "best" of them on a new album, titled, get this, Steal This Album. You know, since the tracks were "stolen" via the Internet. Ha.

In a further fit of creativity, the band has decided to package the album to look exactly like a burned CD-R. You know, since people shared the "stolen" tracks with their friends on CD-R's. Ha.

Oh - and the album is being packaged without artwork. No booklet, no tray liner. You know, since people wouldn't have included artwork with their home-burned CD-R's. Ha.

People choosing to purchase Steal This Album will find an interactive element on the CD that gives them access to a website containing the actual artwork for the album. Wow, that's so generous. Ooh, and cutting edge!

At the same time that the band comes up with this creative packaging idea, they go out of their way during interviews for the record to emphasize that they really care about these songs. These aren't b-sides, they're just as strong as all of their other material.

My question - if they really do care about these songs, why the hell are they abusing them this badly?

Actions speak far louder than words, and shipping a CD that looks like a home-burned CD-R (without artwork) is the physical equivalent of a large billboard that says "We Don't Care About These Songs".

Essentially, they're banking on the oft-mumbled statement that fans use to compromise their downloading habits: "If I download it and like it, I'll buy it." And they're putting it to the test by releasing it in the worst packaging ever. It all relies on the hope that their fans will simply want to upgrade to a better sounding copy of what they already own. Which, truthfully, many will do. But the passive fans who have the homeburn won't waste their time or their money. (They'll just download the new mixes once the album comes out.)

If they really want their fans to put their money where their mouths are, they should package the CD to the nines. Include a full-color, multi-page booklet (with lyrics) that talks about the real history of these songs and why the band thinks they're great. Make it totally irresistible to any System fan. Even the ones who burned themselves copies from the MP3's would run out that minute and buy it.

But forget all of that. Forget the fans. This is a horrible idea for Joe Consumer, who didn't "steal" the album in the first place.

People who didn't download the songs are going to walk into the store, look at the disc, and ask themselves, "Why would I pay good money for this? It looks like a CD-R." Many of them are bound to assume that it is a CD-R, and thus not worth the $15.

And what about people who don't own computers and don't have access to the Internet? There have to be at least a handful of System fans in that situation. What do they get for their hard-earned cash? A pressed CD that looks like a CD-R in a clear plastic case. Translated: a lot less than their Internet-enabled brethren.

Beyond that, how is this "genius" packaging idea going to strike people years down the line? Do you think it will be remembered for it's greatness, like how people today think of Dark Side of the Moon or Sgt Pepper's?

If their label has any brains at all, they'll make this first batch "limited edition" and release a fully-packaged version utilizing the artwork from the website for the second pressing. Otherwise, this record is toast.

Take a look, folks. Steal This Album is a perfect example of people thinking they're significantly more clever than they really are.

(Oh, and just watch. When it doesn't sell, their label is going to cite it as proof that MP3 sharing is hurting the music industry. You know, since people didn't run out and buy the CD. Ha.)