The Flicker Blog and Podcast

One month on, Beatport still hasn’t managed to resolve the problem with my order. There follows, a particularly long post detailing what I believe to be an utterly ridiculous and convoluted discussion with Beatport over the fact that I had a problem with an order from them.

I wrote a post about the terrible experience the morning after placing my order. Given that a month has now passed and I’ve written far too many emails to them trying to resolve the matter, I feel inclined to post the correspondence. I doubt many people will have the inclination to read all the emails, but it certainly helps me feel justified in my frustration to lay them out end-to-end and confirm that they have done absolutely nothing to resolve what should be a trivial issue. I’ve taken out names, phone numbers and email addresses, but otherwise, the content below is exactly as received/sent.

From: Paul Crowley
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
To: Beatport
Subject: Re: Beatport Download Order #273870

Please tell me what is going on!

I selected that I wanted WAV format for my purchases, and even got the confirmation pop-up dialogue, yet the download page is saying that the purchased music is in MP3 format.
What do I do?

Yours frustrated,

Paul

From: Paul Crowley
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
To: Beatport
Subject: Re: Beatport Download Order #273870

Hi,

I’ve just noted another problem with my order.
Not only did I order WAV and get MP3, but I also didn’t get what I ordered!
I order Beatz iN Peacez 01, 02 and 03. Instead I got two copies of 01 and one of 03.
Please can you let me have Beatz iN Peacez 02 please?

Thank you very much,

Paul

From: beatport.com

Subject: Dear Valued Customer,

Date: 14 December 2005

To: Paul Crowley

Dear Valued Customer,

Thanks for Contacting Beatport. We apologize for any inconvenience you are currently experiencing. We will respond to emails in the order they are received and normally handle requests within 24 to 48 hours.
Sometimes the answer to your question may be in the FAQs section on our site. Most other technical, library and refund inquiries can be handled here.

Thanks for your patience in this matter.

The Beatport staff

From: beatport.com
Subject: RE: Beatport Download Order #273870
Date: 19 December 2005
To: Paul Crowley

Hello Paul,

This sounds like a possible glitch with your account. I apologize for this inconvenience. Let me forward this to our engineering group and I will follow up with our resolution. Again I apologize and we thank you for your patience in this matter.

Regards,

Beatport

From: beatport.com

Subject: RE: Beatport Download Order #273870

Date: 20 December 2005

To: Paul Crowley

Hello Paul,

I checked out your account and it does show MP3s. This might be a glitch with your account. Let me forward this to our engineering group for troubleshooting. Hopefully I will be able to follow-up again soon when resolution is available. I apologize for the inconvenience in the mean time.

Thank you for your patience in this matter,

Beatport

From: beatport.com

Subject: RE: Beatport Download Order #273870

Date: 28 December 2005

To: Paul Crowley

Hello Paul and thank you for being so patient.

Beatport experienced technical issues during the migration of the WAV download feature. We’re containing the glitches but for the most part most problems have been resolved. We hope no more issues arise. Let me know if the error still persists on your end. I will troubleshoot further if need be. You are also more than welcome to give us a call at ***-***-**** if you would prefer to expedite this issue.

Regards,

Beatport.com

From: beatport.com

Subject: RE: Beatport Download Order #273870

Date: 28 December 2005

To: Paul Crowley

Also I can reset any tracks you may have lost during this delay.

From: Paul Crowley

Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005

To: Beatport Support

Subject: Re: Beatport Download Order #273870

Hi,

I’ve just gone to my account page, and I’m still getting mp3s for download instead of WAV.
I also received no comment on the fact that I have two copies of ‘Beatz N Peacez 01′ and one of part 03, when what I actually wanted was parts 01, 02 and 03. I hope you can assist?

Many thanks,

Paul

From: beatport.com

Subject: RE: Beatport Download Order #273870

Date: 28 December 2005

To: Paul Crowley

Hi Paul,

I took a look at your account preferences and you actually have MP3 downloads as your preferred download file type. In order to download WAVS you will have to update your information accordingly.

Log in

Click account

Click preference

Update preferred file format

I hope that clear up our mix-up. Let me know if the error still persists on your end. I will troubleshoot further if need be. You are also more than welcome to give us a call at ***-***-**** if you would prefer to expedite this issue.

Regards,

Beatport

From: Paul Crowley

Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2005

To: Beatport Support

Subject: Re: Beatport Download Order #273870

Hi,

Thanks for the tip – I have now set my preferred file type to WAV.
However, at the time of purchase, I specifically requested WAV (regardless of this preference).
Does changing this preference mean that my downloads will now be available in WAV format as I requested?
I have still received no comment on the actual tracks in my order not being the ones I ordered either.
Can you please comment on this too?

If I can be as clear as possible – I would like to have Beatz N Peaces parts 01, 02 & 03 by Peace Division (two copies of the same track are of little value).
Frankly, if it makes matters easier to clear up all of these queries, I would (ideally) like to download all the tracks I have ever bought from Beatport in WAV format. Is it possible to do this by paying the difference between the MP3 and WAV formats? I would gladly do this if it can be organised.

Thank you,

Paul

From: beatport.com

Subject: RE: Beatport Download Order #273870

Date: 31 December 2005

To: Paul Crowley

Hello Paul,

WAV files are treated as separate orders so if you would like to purchase track in these formats another purchase needs to be made. I apologize for this inconvenience. The Preferred Format which you choose will be the default format for all purchases on Beatport. You will have to update accordingly if you would like different types of format with the order.

Regards,

Beatport

From: Paul Crowley

Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006

To: Beatport Support

Subject: Re: Beatport Download Order #273870

Hi,

Yes, I understand that WAV files are priced separately to MP3. Given that all of our discussions have been about how I requested WAV files in the first instance, can I not please get what I ordered? I’m happy to pay the difference in price, but I think that it’s totally unreasonable that you ask me to make a complete new order because your site wasn’t/isn’t working properly.

And… you have still not answered the question that I’ve put in virtually every one of my emails to you – that I my order didn’t contain the tracks that I requested.

I realise that the order wasn’t a significant spend on my part, but I find it utterly ridiculous that after nearly 3 weeks and 6 emails from yourself, that this simple request can’t be met: I’d like my original order (#273870) in WAV format as originally
requested with Beatz N Peaces parts 01, 02 and 03 as ordered, rather than two copies of part 01 and one of part 03.
I wrote a lengthy blog post on my frustration at the interface design of your site, and how it messed up my order. Frankly, I’m feeling inclined to write another (quoting our correspondence). Given that I reported a problem with your sites functionality and my order, you have still done absolutely nothing to placate me despite many emails and nearly 3 weeks passing. As customer experiences go, this has been one of the worst I can remember. This is such a shame because I feel that your core offer – great music, reasonably priced and not hampered by DRM is fantastic.

Thanks for your time.

Paul

From: beatport.com

Subject: RE: Beatport Download Order #273870

Date: 3 January 2006

To: Paul Crowley

Hello Paul,

At the time of your initial order (273870) you had MP3 downloads as your preferred download file type, which you received.

To deter our customers from purchasing unwanted tracks we feature “My Crate,” which allows items to be removed at any time during a browsing session. All traditional check outs are then automatically directed to “Account :: Crate” where corrections may be made to the summarize details of the pending order. By submitting the “Check Out” button Beatport then forewarns with a disclaimer of the proceeding purchase. The order will only be finalized with our customer’s agreement.

Order 273870 also indicated tracks:

46179 Beatz n Peacez 01 Original Mix Peace Division NRK $1.49

11889 Beatz iN Peacez 03 Limited Edition Peace Division NRK $1.49

11906 Beatz iN Peacez 01 Original Mix Peace Division NRK $1.49

All being different downloads with different audio. “Beatz n Peacez 01 Original Mix- 7:05″ and “Beatz iN Peacez 01 Original Mix- 7:36″ are not the same audio. If you would like to purchase Beatz iN Peacez 02 Original Mix Peace Division NRK then another order must be made indicating the specific file format before checking out and agreeing to Beatport’s disclaimer.

However these policies are not to dismiss our appreciation for our customer’s patronage. We understand that mistakes occur nonetheless. So in light of this, Beatport developers are in the final stages of yet another feature that will allow an exchange of our products of equal or lesser value provided tracks has not been downloaded. As an option I may offer you this type of exchange once this feature is available to us.

Please let me know. I apologize for the inconvenience.

From: Paul Crowley
Subject: Re: Beatport Download Order #273870

Date: 5 January 2006

To: Beatport.com

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

At the time of your initial order (273870) you had MP3 downloads as your preferred download file type, which you received.

Yes – I’ve already had this pointed out to me. Surely, manually selecting ‘WAV’ as the format I want for this order, and selecting OK when asked if I am sure is sufficient information for you to realise that I don’t want my preferred download type this time? Particularly when the whole notion of a preferred type is yours, and not your customers. I can buy whatever I want from Amazon; and just because my last order from them was 12″ vinyl isn’t interpreted by them as permission to ignore all subsequent orders for CDs. Perhaps you could/should do the same?

I am getting a little tired of repeating myself (as I’m sure you are) but I do get a little annoyed that the responses are now along the lines of ‘You don’t know how to use our website properly’. Particularly given that one of the first emails I received from you about this issue read:

‘Beatport experienced technical issues during the migration of the WAV
download feature. We’re containing the glitches but for the most part most
problems have been resolved. We hope no more issues arise. Let me know if
the error still persists on your end.’

I really can’t believe how may emails I (and you) have had to write to resolve what should be a trivial matter.
I didn’t get what I asked for – I politely asked for the matter to be rectified, and offered to pay any shortfall that may have arisen if appropriate.

What is the problem, and why have you gone from admitting there were faults to suggesting that it’s my inability to use your site (which any usability or accessibility consultant would tear strips off)? I’ve done my best to be patient and polite, but it’s getting increasingly difficult.

However these policies are not to dismiss our appreciation for our customer’s patronage. We understand that mistake occur nonetheless. So in light of this, Beatport developers are in the final stages of yet another feature that will allow an exchange of our products of equal or lesser value provided tracks has not been downloaded. As an option I may offer you this type of exchange once this feature is available to us.

It’s not 100% clear from the above if you are offering me what I’ve been asking for, but if you are saying that you will offer to exchange my purchases for WAVs, then yes please!

Thank you, Paul

Grrrr. The thing is, I really want to love Beatport.
It’s an inexpensive and convenient source for buying all manner of underground electronic music – the kind of thing that was the preserve of the specialist vinyl shops that are now in terminal decline.

Not only are the prices reasonable, and the collection relatively extensive (and growing) but they do what we all want – offer content without DRM and in a variety of useful formats – MP3, MP4 and WAV.

So far, so good. So why oh why do they insist on doing so many dumb and infuriating things? The whole site is built in Flash, rendering it slow, clunky and inaccessible – the main point of which seems to give it a rather ugly UI (OK, I admit that this is a subjective point of view, but being a designer, I think I’m allowed to comment). Not only is this implementation possibly leaving them open to legal action under EU Accessibility Laws, but it serves no one in any way whatsoever that couldn’t be better and more efficiently implemented in plain old XHTML. On a Mac, it frequently doesn’t work. Typing in a search query yesterday, each successive keystroke overtyped the previous one. The buttons in the interface don’t respond, or when they do, the delay is so great that you’ve already moved on and have no sense of what you’ve clicked.

Being as there’s only one URL, the back button doesn’t work, the refresh button (which I instinctively tried on several occasions when the interface appeared to have frozen) takes you back to the front page. And of course (a major oversight) you can’t link to any content on the site because you have to use the clunky and un-reassuring search interface to get to anything.

I have content for sale on Beatport. It would be great to be able to refer any viewers of my site directly to a page where they could actually purchase our material. Surely, every one wins there?

I’m sure that they will put it down to human error, but when I made an order yesterday, I actually bought two of the same thing from a series of 3 choices (getting part 1 twice and 3 instead of 1,2 and 3). Now, I’m sure I made the right selection, but given the lag between pressing the ‘buy’ button and getting any visual feedback or it actually registering in your basket, the possibilities for error are endless.

To make matters worse, the trigger for me buying material was to try out the newly advertised WAV downloads. So, I made my choice, proceeded to checkout (this was my 3rd attempt by the way – had to switch from Mac to PC to proceed) then chose WAV as my format. I accepted the dialogue box that verified if I wanted WAV, paid and went to my downloads page. The only problem, my downloads were there as MP3s.

So… Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Again.

I really hope that some (or all) of these matters get resolved soon. When I discovered this site, my first response was ‘there goes all my money.’ But, it’s so painful, frustrating and un-reassuring buying anything from this site, that for the time being, my money seems relatively safe.

Beer, Sellotape & Gareth, originally uploaded by Paul Crowley.

This is what happens when you mix Gaz, beer and sellotape.

Met with Mazi at Plastic People last night to go and see Francois K play. This was before Mazi himself had to go and do a set at Fabric with Jay Tripwire.

Being as I’d been awake since 6:45am Saturday and didn’t get away till 6:30am this morning, I don’t think that today will be one where I make a great impact on the world – more likely the sofa! Still, you’ve gotta do it every now again!

I was sent a link to a highly entertaining site today – what can be best described as an mp3 archive of the weird and wonderful (wonderfully bad, generally) recordings of the past. Contains such classics as: ‘Michael Mills – Hidden & Satanic Messages In Rock Music’
and ‘Picking Up Girls Made Easy – The Women’s Clothing Store Pick-Up’

Gaz and I have just spent the long weekend struggling to finish a track (Key Dumb) to go with Dumb Key.

On Thursday last week, Graeme came around and recorded some lyrics for us*. I spent all day Saturday cleaning them up ready for when Gaz came down in the evening. Frustratingly, we didn’t get the track finished. It’s definitely starting to come together, but it’s not ready to go out the door just yet.
It’s exhausting spending 3 days solid listening to the same thing over and over, but hopefully, the end result will be worth it.

There’s a label in Chicago (KG Beats) already interested in Key Dumb, and another label in New Orleans (Sugarcane) chasing some material from us. I really need to get on with this stuff! Sometimes things just come together really easily, other times we have to really work at them.

*The lyrics are actually based on some stuff that Graeme wrote back in the early 90’s for our band at the time ‘Scrape.’

As a consequence of a discussion about peer-to-peer file sharing on the Tech-House Mailing List, I became aware of a study completed by Felix Oberholzer of the Harvard Business School. The document investigates the impact that peer-to-peer networks such as Napster etc have had on album sales in the US.

Apparently, illegal downloads have had virtually zero impact on album sales in the US. In fact, it is suggested that downloads actually help encourage sales. Those who download tracks and don’t buy the respective album, would not have bought it anyway – apparently.

Oddly, I don’t think of this as positive news for recording artists. With the current setup of the music industry, it’s only the labels that make any money.

Theoretically, the internet provides a great distribution method for any artist – and besides the marketing muscle; it’s only the distribution that a record company really offers the artist these days. With the development of PC based recording and production software, the traditional, expensive recording studio is increasingly obsolete.

Still – you make your tracks; and you could theoretically get them to millions of users. But – how do you get noticed or paid? Without the marketing clout of the industry heavyweights, I wonder how much demand there is on Kazaa for tracks from artists such as Flicker? Even if there was a huge demand – would downloads have any effect on the sales of vinyl (CDs rarely being produced by smaller labels in this genre)?

Today must have been positive feedback day – or something like that.
I actually received something approaching fanmail via our site – someone had bought Demon Tweaks and took it upon themselves to hunt down our other releases and find our site – the power of google!

(Note to self – try to improve the sites’ google effectiveness! A search for ” Flicker Demon Tweaks” no longer brings up flickertracks.com. On a positive note, there are a lot of listings though.)

I also heard from Mazi regarding Perfect Portion/Little Bit. He’s already stated that he wants them for Gourmet – but he now wants to remix them too. In many ways, that’s very flattering – meaning they inspire ideas. In others, I can’t help but feel that this means they’re somehow less than perfect (like perfection is somehow attainable).

Enough with the paranoia already! It’s standard practice across the whole industry. Anyway – it’ll be interesting to see what he (or others) do with the tracks.

I guess it was kind of inevitable. After two weekends of heavy boozing and music making, both myself and Gaz appear to have run out of steam. Yesterday went really well, and we worked well into the night, drinking heavily and enjoying the productivity.

We both took a day off work today so that we could attempt to finish ‘Key Dumb.’ We’re both knackered and hungover, and unfortunately, the roll we were on yesterday seems to have halted. Progress has been made, but if I’m honest, I think we need to leave the track well alone for a few days to regain some objectivity.

It’s always frustrating when we can’t complete a track in the time we’ve set ourselves, but nonetheless, it’s still a good start. I promised to send Gary LaCosta (of KGBeats in Chicago) a CD of the new material after this weekend. I’m still going to do this (having decided that Gaz and myself get too close to what we’re doing, and that we should seek input from interested parties).

Just as I don’t feel today that the track is quite there, in a week’s time, I might love it – who knows? In the meantime, a CD is traveling across the Atlantic and is now completely out of my hands!

What did I tell you! Gaz is here and we have indeed drunk huge amounts of delicious Stella Artois!

It’s been a pretty productive night – ‘Key Dumb‘ the counterpart to ‘Dumb Key’ that we’re working on is going very well indeed.

At the moment, we think it’s possibly the best thing that we’ve done to date. But then, we always think that when things are going well. Whenever we’re working on tracks, they always have this honeymoon phase. More often than not – in the cold light of morning, there are plenty of things to remedy.