Felt like just talking to the internet tonight, hope you don't mind..
So lately I've been wondering where others stand on the issue of listening to live versions of new songs before they're released. This mostly came up because last night 5 Seconds Of Summer did their first gig of the year in Glasgow and played a bunch of new songs, that got filmed and immediately uploaded to YouTube. I, for one, was ecstatic and listened to them all right away (and downloaded the audio which isn't illegal I don't think). This is fun for me and other fans, because we get a taste of what's to come either at a show we're attending or with the upcoming album.
Do you think it's worth it? I mean, yeah, you listen to them once or twice but don't put them on your iTunes or anything? I'm the kind of person that somewhat tortures themselves with all this low quality audio because I get it stuck in my head. I fear these songs won't make it to an album or EP. Or I just can't wait. Especially if I hear a new song played when I'm actually at a show, I get it stuck in my head and need to listen to it over and over. I get attached.
Once example is the whole Taylor Swift fandom and Sparks Fly. For so long all we had was this one crappy live version and then all of a sudden it had been remastered and released on Speak Now. That was awesome and so many fans were happy because they fell in love with it years before.
Being in a fandom can be really fun a lot of the time, new songs are really exciting and music is good. Goodnight.