Grateful Dead

Awfully nice of you to weigh in with some kind of response. Some of The Taper's Section comments are shrill, but someone had to know that they'd get a nasty response. Give people something for free, and then see how they react when you try to take it away ... Never a good move, but given that Rhino already has PR issues with Heads, and a perceived inability to release new GD material, it seems nigh suicidal. And, according to those same comments, I'm one of many who has spent a lot more money here since the Taper Section opened; in fact it inspired me to go back and fill in the holes in my Dick's Picks/Download Series (to the tune of about $400, not to mention the $250 I dropped at Amoeba on both box sets), so the logic of this move escapes me. I'll also note that I was unaware that Dick's Pick's and other downloads had been stopped. I would have bought a lot less in the last year if I hadn't been able to get that instant download gratification! Obviously I don't know all of the ins and outs of that situation either, but from over here it looks like a giant step backward in terms of sales. Then again, it could be that my perceptions are totally skewed: there are only a couple hundred of us making noise over in the Taper Section. Maybe they don't care about us, since we are the fanatics who already own the entire catalog and won't be buying anything until something new is released. If the Taper Section were a threat to sales from new customers, and Rhino is only capable of marketing the existing catalog, then I can understand it going bye-bye, but it seems like we might all be better served by new releases. Sorry for rambling on, but thank you again for communicating with the fans. Peace out!

I'm in a recording studio in New Jersey mixing a CD this week. I found out about this Monday morning, the same time the rest of you did. I don't yet have a lot of information about what's going on, but I think it's a good deal more complicated than it may appear. I trust we'll get more information soon. I agree that it's a bummer that the change was made abruptly and without explanation, but I've been working with these people for several months on a number of levels and I feel pretty safe in assuring you it's not a simple matter of "bait and switch," "greed," etc. as so many have been shouting about on these pages. I'd ask that people not jump to conclusions. Please be patient. GD Hour blog Station list

David: Why does Rhino keep screwing everything up? Have you seen the posts on the Tapers Section. They are pissing off the very people they need in the future. Unlike the Archives, your feature and Lemiuex's feature are not entire shows, where it is least understandable to make the sdbs non-downloadable. But this seems to me to be pure BS. I cant even stream at work, it no longer functions. I used to look forward to Mondays and Wednesdays, but I cant even listen anymore! What's next? Are they going to charge me to listen to GDHour on the freakin radio? I am done buying anything they put out. David, as you know I have always found your voice to be one of reason, so what gives?