The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 

Converge invents new use for Twitter: "street justice" for album leaks

Pointy-eared, ivory-tower webternet theorists and starched-collar marketing gurus love to talk about the power of social networking. And major record labels have spent millions combatting internet music piracy. But today they all should be taking a lesson from Boston hardcore heroes CONVERGE. 

Two days ago, when Converge's new album Axe To Fall leaked to the internet (its official release date is October 20), the band did something that appears to be unprecedented: they publicly shamed the leaker.

As the technology for watermarking has gotten better, labels are getting smarter about determining the source of album leaks. But for a variety of reasons -- say, you're the most influential indie music website in the business -- they've been reluctant to identify the leakers, even if they know who they are. Earlier this year, when the Alaska indie-rock band Portugal. The Man's new album leaked, their publicist issued a press release blaming the leak on an unidentified "national journalist." The Phoenix subsequently asked the publicist to identify the leaker, but she declined. "The journalist forwarded the link to two writers at the same publication, and one of those writers either posted the music or forwarded the link onto someone else who did," the publicist elaborated, adding, "He's VERY upset about it, I doubt it will ever happen again."

Converge, however, cut right to the chase. They posted a Twitter update alleging that the source of the leak had been Shaun Hand, a staff writer for the popular hesher portal metalsucks.net. They also asked their fan base to re-tweet the message -- which their fans did several hunderd times over the next day. In the course of re-tweeting those messages, some fans also took pleasure in calling Hand an "idiot" and a "bottom-feeder." Other bands, including Every Time I Die and Hatebreed frontman/MTV host Jamey Jasta, chimed in on Twitter by calling for "street justice" -- jokingly, perhaps, but echoed by enough users that if we were Shaun Hand, we wouldn't want to show up within several miles of the Converge tour this fall. (Scroll down for a timeline of selected Tweets from the fracas.)

There's an awful lot to like about Converge's approach. They didn't file a lawsuit -- which would've been costly and pointless, since the plaintiffs (the writer, potentially the website) clearly are not billionaires. They didn't write a long-winded, whiny treatise attempting to outline a philosophical framework for Why It Sucks That Now Everyone Can Steal Our Music. They didn't bother asking their fans not to download it -- also pointless. (Some fans responded by Tweeting how much they love the new album; others promised to wait until the record's official release. Regardless, by this morning, punk and metal messageboards were on fire with in-depth, close-read discussions of most of the album's tracks.)

So Converge got it right: they simply called bullshit, let the offender knew that they knew who he was, and let the rest take care of itself.

The result? Converge fans think Shaun Hand is a douchebag, and that opinion is likely to rub off a little on the site he writes for. (Wrote for?) Metalsucks.net, for its part, quickly Tweeted back that they were "horrified" by the leak, and that if Hand was indeed the source of the leak, he would be "dealt with swiftly." By yesterday afternoon, the site posted a lengthy apology in which they accepted "full responsibility" for the leak and proclaimed themselves "deeply embarrassed and regretful." "We obviously can’t 'undo' the leak," it said, "but are currently working with the label to see if there’s anything we can do to try and make it up to the band." (Whether the apology has been accepted is another matter -- we're sure it's coincidental, but metalsucks.net has been down all afternoon.)

At the end of the day, Converge have three things that most bands/record labels cannot claim at the end of a protracted leak crisis. By framing the leak as the hostile act of an outside insurgent, they further bonded with their audience and increased the loyalty of their fans. They turned a potential enemy -- metalsucks.net -- into an ally, one that is now contrite and probably incapable, for the next several months at least, of uttering anything less than godlike worship for Converge. And -- this is probably the most important -- they demonstrated, better than any band I can think of, a practical deterrent to leaking Converge's music. If there's anything all potential leakers learned in the past 48 hours, it's that You Don't Want To Be That Fucking Guy. 

For further discussion: does shaming work?

VIDEO: Converge at ICC Church

  1. Converge
    Convergecult BTW: Special thanks to SHAUN HAND at Metal Sucks for leaking our album... #musicmonday #converge #axetofall PLEASE RETWEET #fb
  2. etid
    therealetid STREET JUSTICE!! RT @Convergecult: BTW: Special thanks to SHAUN HAND at Metal Sucks for leaking our album... PLEASE RETWEET #fb
  3. MetalSucks
    metalsucks @Convergecult We are HORRIFIED and are investigating right now. If Shaun is really responsible, he will be dealt with swiftly.
  4. Converge
  5. Jamey Jasta
  6. mark
    shastabeast @convergecult @therealetid @metalsucks @jameyjasta since when did HC become all about the money?our album got leaked wahhhhhh :''(
  7. MetalSucks
    metalsucks @shastabeast @convergecult @therealetid @jameyjasta It's not just about the $. They have every right to be pissed. I know I am.
  8. Converge
    Convergecult @metalsucks Ha we thanked the guy. Nothing negative was said by us. Thanks everyone.
-- this quote was brought to you by quoteurl

The chaotic lure of You Fail Me, the new album from iconic punk-metal quartet CONVERGE, is...

  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article

11 Comments

  • Rich Holtzman said:

    I am Portugal. The Man's manager. We discussed going public with the journalist's name but decided that it was better to

    react privately.  I applaud Converge for making a decision that they felt was best.  "street justice" does not work for everyone and in this case it did not work for P.TM.  We felt making the leaker (i like that name) public might make itself a story and we did not want to run that risk.  

    Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with what Converge has done.  There are many roads that can be travelled to end at the same destination.  The business of journalism almost demands that there is early access to things and we hope that can continue.  We believe our way of dealing with it was very productive to the end game of preserving a journalists access

    P.TM's stance on file sharing has been well documented and we continue to support it as one of the best ways to discover music.  The decision of making something public should ultimately be in the band's hands (or the owner of the masters)

    October 8, 2009 12:39 PM
  • Carly Carioli said:

    I think P.TM's response may also be useful to other bands. Although you guys chose not to out the leaker (which, by the way, I find perfectly understandable), where P.TM and Converge share some ground is that the leaker was shamed -- even though in the case of P.TM it was done privately. We may not know who the leaker is, but the leaker knows the band knows. Which is a kind of leverage; and the press release was also a semi-public deterrent. Those two factors are, I think, a kind of roadmap for how bands ought to think about leaks.

    October 8, 2009 2:14 PM
  • Brent Eyestone said:

    CONVERGE ARE GAYZZZZZZZ

    October 9, 2009 3:26 PM
  • Mario said:

    Who the fuck cares about Portugal. The Man? Who even thinks of that name?

    October 9, 2009 5:16 PM
  • luigi said:

    both of these bands suck anyways, and apparently they want to be rich for sucking

    October 9, 2009 7:04 PM
  • hootz said:

    yeah both converge and portugal the man are suuuuuuuuuuuper rich. go suck marios balls, luigi and hopefully the next time you go to jump on a mushroom it goes right up your greasy ass!

    October 10, 2009 4:39 AM
  • an italian said:

    hey hootz!  that's-a racist!

    October 10, 2009 4:46 PM
  • b-crizzy said:

    i heard portugal?the?man!!! had to leak their own album for free publicity because nobody cares about them and they are sad kittens

    October 11, 2009 12:50 AM

Leave a Comment

Login | Not a member yet? Click here to Join

(required)  
(optional)
(required)  
Follow the Boston Phoenix
twitter facebook myspace youtube rss
All Blogs
Filed Under: , ,
Related Articles

Converge invents new use for Twitter: "street justice" for album leaks
Boston Phoenix
Converge invents new use for Twitter: "street justice" for album leaks
Published 10/7/2009 by Carly Carioli
Pointy-eared, ivory-tower webternet theorists and starched-collar marketing gurus love to talk about the power of social networking. And major record labels have spent millions combatting...

Leaks of the Week: Chinese Democracy and Kanye
Boston Phoenix
Leaks of the Week: Chinese Democracy and Kanye
Published 11/21/2008 by Ryan Stewart
This is what the internet looked like when Chinese Democracy should have been releasedBig week on t...

more by Carly Carioli
Tall Tails: How To Shoot an Allston Rat | November 06, 2009
PODCAST: Scout Tufankjian on Making History with Barack Obama; Ken Burns on the Art of Documentary | November 04, 2009
ABC reveals the truth about universal health care: sinister plot hatched by space aliens! | November 03, 2009
PODCAST: David Gergen, Lani Guinier, Jack Beatty, and Michael E. Porter on Obama's First Year | November 03, 2009
PODCAST: The Wire's Kima, Bubbles, and Omar at Harvard | November 02, 2009

 See all articles by: Carly Carioli

ADVERTISEMENT
Latest Video
OTD Categories
Out
Brand New at House of Blues | November 17
Rare Frequencies
Rare Frequencies: Trouble and treble
Playlists
Lady Lee's Lion's Den Playlist
MP3 of the Week
HOMEWORK: Assignment #2: D-Tension
Hot Tix
Ticket On-Sale Alert: Weezer, Mighty Mighty Bosstones...
Latest Comments
The Globe, Scott Brown, and abortion - Was Chicago School Board President Michael Scott Snitching On Valarie Jarrett? Tuesday, November 17,...

By publius on 11-21-2009 in Dont Quote Me

Tisei, Gay, By The Way - Although it might be news to Boston news reporters who don't talk to Republicans, the Senator's orientation...

By Peter Porcupine on 11-21-2009 in Talking Politics

The Globe, Scott Brown, and abortion - Spilot, can you elaborate?

By Adam Reilly on 11-21-2009 in Dont Quote Me

The Globe, Scott Brown, and abortion - Oh, puh-leese Adam, give it a rest.

By spilot113 on 11-21-2009 in Dont Quote Me

Obama's Fort Hood screw-up - First of all, the only thing that will "save" this country are free thinking individuals, not...

By Thomas on 11-21-2009 in Dont Quote Me

Latest Comments from On The Download
Most Viewed
HOMEWORK: Assignment #2: D-Tension
REVIEW: Dominique Eade Quartet + Lake Street Dive at Scullers on October 21
Juliana Hatfield announces new album, sings about Evan Dando, appoints a new Phoenix music editor
Rock & Shock 2009: Misfits + Type O Negative at the Palladium
Photos: YouTube goes "U2ube" for its first-ever live concert broadcast #u2webcast
Ticket On-Sale Alert: Weezer, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Mission of Burma, and more
Insane Clown Posse at the Palladium
Most Viewed from On The Download
Search Blogs
 
Links
Bradley’s Almanac - Lower Allston blogging and bootlegging since 2001
Band in Boston -
Basstown -
Wayne&Wax -
Aurgasm -
Onward Charles -
Compound 440r -
Anti-Gravity Bunny -
Clicky Clicky -
Soul Clap -
Lemmingtrail -
WMBR -
WFNX -
Beginning To See the Light -
Jump the Turnstyle -
Heads Up Boston -
Loaded Gun -
Enough Cowbell -
Vanyaland -
On The Download Archives
Sunday, November 22, 2009  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
thePhoenix.com
Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group