5 pounds for .MP3?

[big screen satellite]

Originally Posted by King of Snake

let's also take into consideration that we probably would not have heard these tracks at all if UW were still tied to a "cd only" record deal and we would still be waiting for the album to come out. UW have said that there will still be an album coming which I'm willing to bet will be released on cd/vinyl as usual.

well who's gonna start complaining when they release vinyl only 12" mixes - which are coming

(to be honest vinyl is an even older dying archaic art form...)

[stimpee]

Now youre being pedantic

[lostboy]

I too would like to see a lossless format release as it does make a difference to me. I don't like the way the OP put it, pretty rude considering how much Underworld do for us, their fans. However if it doesn't make a difference to you whether you can discern the difference between 192kbps mp3 and a lossless format such as flac, that doesn't mean that no-one can tell the difference. I have a reasonable pair of speakers and a above average amplifier (quad) and there is a massive difference to me between the two music formats.
Obviously the whole service is still experimental, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for a lossless format release, so that we can encode it as and when we want to. As someone else said it's kind of a step backwards to offer new releases in something less than CD quality.
As to things like bandwidth it's always possible to offer things via a bittorrent server. Perhaps when you purchase a release you get a unique torrent file paired with a key and you download the lossless release that way.

[froopy seal]

Originally Posted by big screen satellite

well who's gonna start complaining when they release vinyl only 12" mixes - which are coming

I'm complaining already. (Better not wait till they're released, I tend to forget things.) I want those mixes on cd! Or as mp3s if that's the only alternative to vinyl (yes, even if they're compressed).

My thoughts on the .mp3 vs. .flac discussion: We should consider ourselves lucky that only the file format is "crappy", not the music itself. Ever thought about all those people out there having to deal with this issue? I pity them, really.