Steff

You've got a point. Although I think that you can write Jan and ask for a CDR burn of the DL releases. Or tell about your idea and maybe he'll think about such a solution.

I can understand that, being myself quite fond of good looking packaging, and considering that mp3 quality varry depending on the source store. What I find interesting in Jan Ström's move is this notion of download-only titles, which allow him to release music that would not have reached the public for lack of potential CD sales. If only for this, i guess it's something to praise. And except for the medium, the music is mastered like regular releases, so if music stores do their stuff correctly, the result for the listener is quite fine.

Hi, first post around here. The Futterman is really enjoyable, as are the Simmons and Gjerstad (my favorite of the three so far). The Steve Swell is right up my alley, with Ascension-like bits and pieces and incredible energy. For the prices, it's true they varry from store to store, but as all releases will eventually be available at both iTunes and eMusic, it's just a question of time to get these at the best quality/price ratio. I couldn't help but notice the comment about cover art, but I find Ayler's position on this quite unusual and noticeable. They do offer cover, tray and label artwork on their website, in the form of PDF files. This is rare enough to be acknowledged. My 2 cents.