Sad News, Torchomatic.com has been shut down

[Darkwave]

This was posted on the site.

[:(]
Well, that's it guys. After four years and a half years I've finally been "persuaded" by the powers that be to shut the site down. There is nothing I can do about the situation. Torchomatic.com is dead.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me and given me encouragement over the years. I have met a lot of like-minded people and made some good friends.

The forum will remain active as will the archive, so we can be reminded of what was posted over the last four years.

All the best, Simon. UK.

[schwenko]

[quote]Originally posted by Darkwave
[br]This was posted on the site.

[:(]
Well, that's it guys. After four years and a half years I've finally been "persuaded" by the powers that be to shut the site down. There is nothing I can do about the situation. Torchomatic.com is dead.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me and given me encouragement over the years. I have met a lot of like-minded people and made some good friends.

The forum will remain active as will the archive, so we can be reminded of what was posted over the last four years.

All the best, Simon. UK.
[/quote]

Yes, it's a shame. He was posting 4-6 tracks every 2 weeks for the last 4 years. Mostly things I never heard of. Boo hoo hoo [:(]

[Darkwave]

It really is a shame.
Just looking at all the songs he posted over the years and it makes you feel even worse.
What a terrible loss for New wave fans.[:(]
these are the songs that were posted over the years.
http://www.torchomatic.com/mixes.htm
http://www.torchomatic.com/mp3.htm
http://www.torchomatic.com/featured-mp3.htm

[devildog]

Yes, this is bad news. I looked forward to downloading essential 80s tracks from this site. So much for the internet being the final frontier.[:(]

[human clone]

[quote][i]Originally posted by kimiiii[/i]
<br>Wait a minute? What was this site? How come this is the first I have heard of it and now it's dead????

[/quote]

Likewise, I wish I had known earlier...

[British]

Who were the "powers that be?"

[MikeP]

[quote][i]Originally posted by British[/i]
<br>Who were the "powers that be?"
[/quote]

I'd like to know that too. It always makes me a little nervous each time another similar site is "shut down".

[savethewave]

[quote][i]Originally posted by British[/i]
<br>Who were the "powers that be?"
[/quote]

This might be the answer. On the <a href="http://www.fmqb.com">FMQB</a> website, an article appeared, discussing how the RIAA are targeting European users. Here's the article:
<a href="http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=43336">P2P Showdown Hits Speed Bump D.C., European Users Targeted By Lawsuits</a>

I wish I had known about this. It looks like it was awesome.

[ekahob]

Yes, who are these "powers"? Much of the music torchomatic posted is not available for sale. Much of the music I post and probably none of the music Mike P. posts is available. When it is available I link to Amazon or elsewhere so it can be purchased. Who are we hurting? I think we are helping by keeping the flame alive for this music. I try whenever possible to get in touch with the members of the band and ask permission. Sometimes this reaps rewards in the form email exchanges and contributions from the band members. I recently traded emails with a member from the band RUDI and he told me some great for me to post.

The labels are still out to lunch regarding the power of the web and downloads. The new Interpol record was floating around for weeks before it was released and it still managed to have a pretty good debut on the charts. I have contacted a couple of labels that have re-issued some great material with an offer to help promote their music. I never heard from them. My site could provide over a 1000 eyeballs a week to them - for free.

Eric
http://lostbands.blogspot.com/

[randy]

Like many others , I wish I had known of the site--never knew it existed.

ekahob--your site has been excellent, and in regards to your recent post on your site about not providing as much info on the bands as you did before--I say nay!! I loe reading any info about any of the bands. Keep it up.

[rewind]

Torchomatic was a cool site, as is yours, ekahob. But let's not lose site of the fact that posting songs for download (without permission) is ILLEGAL. It doesn't matter if the record is available or not. By giving away a song for free, you hurt the WRITER/ARTIST who may have otherwise had an oppurtunity to gain some financial retribution for his work, minimal though that payment may have been.

Here in the U.S., the "powers that be" is mostly the RIAA. They represent the interests of record labels, which, your right, have been out to lunch and probably have no interest in ever releasing some of this music. However, by giving the song away for free we devalue that work, decreasing the possibilty that the artist may be able to release it again through a re-issue label, perhaps. Nobody wants to invest in a song that has already been available for free.

As admirable and well-intentioned as our efforts are, "keeping the flame alive" is not justification enough for illegally posting songs for free. Think of the struggling artist whose only income may be from the royalties accrued from that one-hit wonder that keeps showing up on (potential) compilations!

Ideally, those selfish record labels should loosen up their ownership over titles they will never care about, and give the artists or re-issue companies greater leeway in releasing them.

[fritzb]

Sad news indeed. I've been downloading tracks from Torchomatic for quite a while. I'd never even heard of most of the stuff I got there. In fact most of the songs and groups were so obscure that I had a hard time finding out enough info on them to properly tag the mp3s. [:(]

[red x red]

Sad sad news. I've been visiting for nearly two (2) years now and have enjoyed everything.

Thanks for the memories Simon!

[newwavr176209]

Like the other posters here, I couldn't believe it when I went to torchomatic.com for the usual weekly download and it was gone [V] In the year and a half that I have been frequenting that site, I have found some really great stuff that I'd never even heard of.

RIP, torchomatic

[Gareth]

Damn. Torchomatic was a treasure.

I see people who weren't aware of the site, and that's too bad....so it gave me an idea. If you know of any other sites that offer similar content, post about them here. Share the wealth!