Do you guys actually buy music?

For those more commercially significant releases, we usually send out the streaming links along with the promo copy a few days early—mostly so the reviews can drop right alongside the release date. We aren't sitting around waiting for some critic's feedback to decide whether or not to pull the plug on an album that’s already finished its entire production cycle. Why wait?

Alright look, let's just set aside the fact that you probably haven't worked in media or heard these stories firsthand—do you just have a major issue with perception here? Let’s break this down:

1. Tram 11 drops an album for Menart, and the only sane assumption is that Menart actually LISTENED to the record before putting it up for sale—otherwise, they could've released anything, even a fart album;
2. Around that same time, reviews start rolling in—mostly positive ones—noting that while the views are politically incorrect, nobody really gives them a second thought at first;
3. Certain big-shot human rights authorities find it pretty hard to pin hate speech accusations on the creators;
4. Then, after a few days of the authors hitting up various podcasts and doubling down on the exact same stances from the record, Menart pulls the whole thing from the shelves—and suddenly, some of those critics start implicitly or explicitly distancing themselves from any potential backlash.

So, where's the breakdown in communication, besides you trying to convince me that absolutely NOBODY heard the album before it hit the streets?

Dennis Hall41 said:Alright, look—let’s set aside the fact that you probably haven't worked in media or heard these stories firsthand. Do you just have a fundamental issue with perception here? Let’s break this down:

1. Tram 11 releases an album for Menart, and the only sane assumption is that Menart actually LISTENED to the record before putting it up for sale—unless they were planning on selling recordings of flatulence instead;
2. Around that same window, reviews start dropping—mostly positive ones—noting that while the lyrics are politically incorrect, nobody seems to be making a huge deal out of it at first;
3. Certain human rights authorities find it difficult to pin hate speech charges on the creators;
4. Then, after a few days of the authors hitting various podcasts and repeating those exact same stances from the record, Menart pulls the album from shelves, and some critics—at least some of them—start implicitly or explicitly distancing themselves to avoid any potential fallout.

So where's the breakdown in communication, other than your attempt to convince me that absolutely NOBODY heard the album before it hit the market?

Everything you're assuming—starting with that very first sentence—is dead wrong.

Those aren't even assumptions—they're just straight-up facts. Honestly, I figured you were just here to troll. But yeah, at least that one assumption is spot on.

Look, I’m trolling here, yet you’re standing there with this righteous confidence, spouting "facts"—which you first called "assumptions," only to pivot and correct me by saying they’re definitely "facts"—all based on something you supposedly "heard firsthand a few years ago" (so, was it your hand or someone else's? Hard to tell where the actual experience ends and the hearsay begins). And while we're at it, you're busy building these elaborate theories about my credibility.

Boštjan Menart—who is essentially the owner, or at least the only person who actually matters in that firm, and seemingly the one who pulled the plug on the album—might be lying, or he might not, but the fact remains that this is what he said: "I listened to the new Tram 11 album, Jedan i jedan, for the first time right when I got the report showing our sales had absolutely spiked."
https://www.usatoday.com/culture/music/problem-15155310

frozenraven39 said:Yeah, I'm trolling—but you're out here confidently spouting "facts" based on some stuff you "heard firsthand a few years ago" (so, technically, it wasn't your hand, was it?), all while making assumptions about whether anyone else is even worth listening to.

Boštjan Menart—who is basically the owner and the only person who actually matters at that company, and likely the one who pulled the plug on the album—might be lying or he might not, but the fact is he straight up said this: "I listened to the new Tram 11 'jedan i jedan' album for the first time right when I got the report that our sales had spiked."
https://www.usatoday.com/culture/music/...problem-15155310

Look, whether he heard it firsthand or fifty-firsthand doesn't even matter for this conversation.

What matters is that you're treating a newspaper article published weeks after the fact as absolute gospel. Seriously, what kind of editor doesn't actually read or listen to the stuff they publish? I’d love to meet an editor that "liberal." And if he doesn't have the time or interest, why aren't there actual employees hired to handle this? So, Menart is just this big soft target—we just show up and everything gets printed?

But honestly, ever since Black Friday started up, I’ve mostly been sticking to digital releases because most of my favorite bands host their stuff there. I also pick up a ton of merch to help out the artists directly. I have to say, black metal shirts usually have killer designs and are made of decent quality material, which has basically resulted in me having a closet overflowing with them. People who know me joke about how I always seem to be wearing the same thing, but they couldn't be more wrong. >///<