Why not free downloads?
Why are we making these changes? Well, it turns out that our experiment with free downloads and donations did not yield the effect we had hoped. Last year Phonocratic Records was run at personal economical loss, and we have no reason to expect that this will change in the near future without taking any action. Still, we believe that there is value in the music we make available, so we will try another marketing model, using downloads and micropayments. Last.fm does not serve this purpose very well, while Bandcamp turns out to be a great place to securely sell music downloads (and physical albums). It will still be possible to donate to Lost Shadow through the Store, but we suggest that our listeners instead download the high-quality music files from Bandcamp, and make the small micropayments there. Hey, 3 euros for a 12 song album is about as cheap as a cup of coffee! And it’s even cheaper than a beer!

Remaining free
A number of tracks will remain free. These are:

• Songs from albums released before 2006. These albums will not be made available through Bandcamp, and will therefore remain downloadable from Last.fm for free (still at only 128kps, though).
• All Lost Shadow singles, previous ones, and coming ones. However, only the lead tracks might be made available for free download in some instances. The singles will be downloadable as 128kps mp3 from Last.fm, or in a variety of  high-quality formats from Bandcamp. Regardless of format, the files will be free.
• Selected albums and songs, such as the “Age and Time” album released last year.

Also, free steaming of all songs is available from both Last.fm and Bandcamp.

No more physical singles
As mentioned at the release of the A Nuance of Future single, we will not continue to release singles in physical format. This is also part of the new strategy for Phonocratic Records. We feel both sad and excited about this decision. The good thing is that we can now focus on bringing you the best possible digital experience for the singles. Also, it should be noted that our albums will still be available in physical CD format, as well as in digital download form, and we do not plan to change that.

We hope that our listeners will be positive about these changes and that we’re putting the value back behind the music.

You can listen to the single at either Last.fm or Bandcamp. At Bandcamp you can also order a physical copy of the single, as well as downloading it. You could also use the player at the bottom of this post.

We also sadly announce that this will be the last single (at least for a long time) that is made available in physical format for ordering. In the future, Phonocratic Records’ singles will be released only in digital format, with printable booklets for those of you who want a physical copy in the shelf. We think of this as a necessary move to keep costs down, and hope that our reasoning is understandable. The whole store is going through some changes in the near future, which you will see soon. Stay tuned!

To enter the contest, simply download the vocals from these links:
A Nuance Of Future
The Man Without A Shadow
If you would like to have anything else (like MIDI-tracks, audio samples of instruments etc.) send me an e-mail (or comment on this post), and I will see what I can do.

And then, put them into your favourite piece of music making software and make a creation. Send you creation to: phonocratic (at sign, the one looking like a bun) gmail (dot) com
I prefer that you send you file via some kind of sharing service, in as high quality as possible (maximum quality should be CD-quality: 44.1 kHz, Stereo, 16 bit). Any normal format is okay, but AIFF, WAV, or FLAC is preferred. If you send the file attached to an e-mail, be sure to compress the file to be no larger than 10 MB, and I will get back to you so we can agree on how to send an uncompressed version of the remix.

And then what? If you submit your remix before or around the 20 of February, there is a great chance that it gets included on the next Lost Shadow single. As many serious remixes as possible will be put on the CD, with the rest released digitally. If included, you will receive a physical copy of the single. And what about rights? See the bottom of this post.

While I personally think that Trance Line Project did a great job with their remix of The Man Without A Shadow, I am fully convinced that there are other people out there that can do equally good, or better. Or why not give A Nuance Of Future a new, sexier sound?

Terms and Conditions
- By sending in the remix to Phonocratic Records, you agree to give us non-exclusive rights to distribute and sell your remix, worldwide. These rights cannot be taken back without renegotiating these terms with Phonocratic Records.
- The remixer(s) will not receive any payments or compensation for sales through Phonocratic Records related to their remixes.
- All rights for the original songs, and the vocal samples remain the property of Phonocratic Records and/or Johan Bengtsson. You will not get the right to sell or redistribute the original songs or the vocal samples.
- The remixer(s) retain the rights to distribute their own remix of the song. When the remix is distributed, credit for song writing, recording, and original production must be given as stated by Phonocratic Records (see below).
- Given that all the requirements above are fulfilled, Phonocratic Records and/or Johan Bengtsson will not ask for compensation for earnings made by the remixer(s) for the remixes submitted for this contest.

Credits for A Nuance Of Future:
Written by Johan Bengtsson. Vocals recorded by Lost Shadow at Phonocratic Records. Original track produced by Lost Shadow.

Credits for The Man Without A Shadow:
Written by Johan Bengtsson. Vocals recorded by Lost Shadow at Phonocratic Records. Original track produced by Lost Shadow.

[Update 16.17]: We still have problems with the old tracks at last.fm. I am working on it, but don’t expect the old versions of the tracks to be back until tomorrow, or maybe even after this weekend. Please have patience. The new tracks from Age and Time seems to be fully listenable and downloadable though, so you can enjoy these in the meantime.

[Update 20 nov]: The problems seems to be fixed now. All albums should work as normal (that is, you should be able to download and listen all Lost Shadow songs from last.fm). If you experience problems or errors, then please comment on this post.

The single is available from here:
http://www.last.fm/music/Lost+Shadow/Pirate+Bay

I also announce that the Lost Shadow forum will be taken down later this year. It has not been much of a success, and is mostly unused nowadays. As it will be possible to comment on every articles here, the forum’s role seems to have disappeared. I encourage you to discuss the news items posted on phonocratic.com. This site will also have an RSS-feed, so you can keep yourself up to date with Lost Shadow using your favorite RSS-reader.

This new site will focus on Lost Shadow, but also contain material from Avoid, House Mouse, Johan Bengtsson and The Alvedons. Most of the information that was found on the old site has been transferred here, feel free to contact me if there is something you’re missing!

I have also decided to make most of my music available from last.fm. Unfortunately, I cannot upload covers of other artists’ songs, but still there is more than ten albums available that you can download for free. If you like them, please consider a donation or to join the friends of Lost Shadow (can be done in the store).

In a few days a new single will be out, called Pirate Bay, to celebrate this new site. I will soon submit it to last.fm, and will tell you here when it is released. Until then, keep it up, and enjoy the new site!

It will be possible to order every new album that is made available on CD through this store, though it might be more complicated with some items. Please note that there are several pages of items below, and the newest ones appear first.