Downloads from Hyperion

NereffidNereffid
edited December 2009 in Classical
I see that Hyperion is now offering MP3 and FLAC downloads on its web site.

Prices seem to be £5.99, £6.99, or £7.99 for single albums, depending on the total length - which means competitive prices for shorter albums. Also, they do a multi-buy discount thingy - the more you spend, the bigger the discount.

Comments

  • JFLLJFLL
    Music Web International has a feature "HYPERION: TOP 30 DOWNLOAD RECOMMENDATIONS" at:
    http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Dec09/Hyperiontop30.htm
  • JFLLJFLL
    edited December 2009
    Pity that the Hyperion site seems to have been out of action for the last two days. When you try to search or download you get technobabble like this:

    "The log file for database 'HyperTest' is full. Back up the transaction log for the database to free up some log space"

    Oh dear, and just when people might have have some available cash for splashing out on downloads. Come on Hyperion, we've been waiting for years to download from you, and now you seem to be blowing it.

    EDIT. And I can't find any contact information to report this
  • NereffidNereffid
    They're a small firm; it's a Sunday, 2 days after Christmas. Cut 'em some slack.

    Contact details:
    http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/about-hyperion.asp
  • JFLLJFLL
    Very charitable of you, Nereffid, but if you want to sell music online you'd best make sure your website is working when people have the money to spend on it, or they might go elsewhere. Sounds to me from the message that the glitch should have been avoidable, too.
  • elwoodiciouselwoodicious
    As a sysadmin, I just want to say they must have some sloppy and lazy ass admins over there. That is all. :-P
  • JFLLJFLL
    Update on problems with the Hyperion website. I was eventually able to search and download yesterday evening, but there was a new problem. After I paid, when I came to download, I got a message "Please Wait - Your download is being prepared, please try again in a few moments", but it took well over an hour for these downloads to be "prepared", whatever that means. I'm now having the same problem again -- I've waited half an hour, and still no sign that my downloads (2 tracks!) have been "prepared". Oh, and they haven't replied to my yesterday's email about the problems. All very sad, as I really wish them well. I certainly hope they get their act together soon and bang a few heads together.
  • elwoodiciouselwoodicious
    @JFLL, that sounds like the same problem that my wife had with CD Baby when trying to buy an MP3 album. The system did eventually make the DL available some 6 weeks later with no follow up email from support. She contacted the artist about a week into the waiting to let them know about the issue and they forwarded her a copy of the album along with some bonus tracks which I thought was really nice. Makes me wonder how many sales that the musician might have lost out on due to a crappy POS and distribution platform [the snotty Linux admin in me blames crappy MS technologies :-P].
  • RonanMRonanM
    I'm still buying Hyperion from Qobuz - they are, if anything, cheaper - especially two-disc sets. And their downloader simply works. And they have charming, courteous and prompt customer service. Quid enim abhorrendum? (more Romano).

    Treated myself to Ibragimova's Bach sonatas and partitas - wonderful playing. I'm usually stuck: I hate the strident, overblown sound that many modern violinists make playing these works, but likewise find the dry, unlubricated fricatives of many HIP violinists tedious. Ibragimova manages a perfect balancing act between historically informed performance
  • JFLLJFLL
    You're probably right about the Qobuz pricing for the Eurozone, Ronan, though not for the UK, alas. By the way, I've now had an apologetic email from Simon Perry at Hyperion, saying "The timing is unfortunate but our technicians are now looking into what the problem may be and hope to have it resolved shortly". Let's hope so, because I had to wait over three hours for my downloads last night.

    But, in the immortal Franglais of the Google robot's translation of Qobuz's words on Hyperion:

    "This label has a heart as big as this, and audiophiles of worldwide him wear a symbol of love is not about to flinch"

    You get the gist.
  • cafreemacafreema
    Substitute "This label" with "Craig" and I want that on my tombstone.

    Craig
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