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Playing the World From a Basement 145

Albanach writes "Singer songwriter Sandi Thom is one of a growing band of new musicians using the internet to circumvent the traditional and traditionally expensive tour circuit. Thom described her free online concerts as a Web Tour, saying 'A web tour is basically what you do when you have a lack of money and no car.' Services such as The Streaming Tank have grown to satisfy the need for broadcast services and the figures are impressive. Just 74 people watched Thom's first concert on February 24th. The concert on March 2nd drew 62,138 viewers."
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Playing the World From a Basement

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  • by Anonymous Coward
    Will there be some drunkard in front of me spilling beer on my shoes? Or better yet, one on stage spilling beer on the computer so that the feed fizzles out in the middle of the show? If so, then they're certainly a good ways to capturing that live concert feeling...
  • Who? (Score:5, Funny)

    by NitsujTPU ( 19263 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @03:47PM (#14869055)
    Just 74 people watched Thom's first concert on February 24th. The concert on March 2nd drew 62,138 viewers.

    I guess that, at that rate, I won't be saying "who?" in a week or 2.
    • Re:Who? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Red Flayer ( 890720 )
      That kid of viewership numbers could be easily explained if she performs in the nude.

      But I expect there was some marketing of some sort for the 3/2 show, and not the 2/24 show. Even so, I think you're right.

      My question is, will she sign with a major label and perpetuate the crap we deal with from the RIAA?
      • Re:Who? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Jason Earl ( 1894 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:58PM (#14869659) Homepage Journal

        My question is, will she sign with a major label and perpetuate the crap we deal with from the RIAA?

        She probably will, but that's just because the RIAA still has more marketing muscle than anyone else. However, there is no question that the balance of power is shifting in favor of the artists. The primary reason that the RIAA is so powerful is that historically the RIAA controlled the primary means of marketing music. Unless you signed a deal with a major record label you couldn't get your song played on the radio, you couldn't get yourself professionally recorded, your CDs didn't end up in record stores, and you couldn't play the larger venues.

        These days creating, publishing, and distributing your own CDs is ridiculously simple, and it is possible to play in front of thousands of fans over the Internet. If the record labels continue to pretend that they have all of the leverage then we will undoubtedly see a shift towards more popular bands that choose to remain self-produced.

        • Re:Who? (Score:3, Informative)

          by Red Flayer ( 890720 )
          Hopefully, absolutely right.

          I checked, she's signed with Legacy, an indie in the UK. I don't know what her contract terms are, but she's been getting airplay there...
    • Re:Who? (Score:4, Funny)

      by smooth wombat ( 796938 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @03:52PM (#14869106) Journal
      I guess that, at that rate, I won't be saying "who?" in a week or 2.

      Just be careful you don't ask who's the band online [thealmightyguru.com] when your nephew is nearby.

  • how (Score:3, Interesting)

    by dotpavan ( 829804 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @03:49PM (#14869072) Homepage
    .. different is it (live webcast) from a recorded viewing? Live concerts have the euphoria that is multiplied by the crowd unlike in thsi case (making no difference). But yes, it does give them some publicity and help them test waters before actually launching a tour.
    • Re:how (Score:4, Informative)

      by kebes ( 861706 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:09PM (#14869262) Journal
      How different is it (live webcast) from a recorded viewing?

      Actually apparently these are not even live. They are recorded daily and rebroadcast. From TFA:
      Thom uses a webcam to record a nightly performance before broadcasting it on the net later in the evening. (Emphasis added.)

      So actually this is just drumming up support by webcasting performances you do in your basement. Still a good idea, but as you say this is no substitute for going to a live show. Sure you save the costs of going on tour, but real music lovers will be much more willing to spend money on a live show, as compared to a low-resolution webcast.

      A more interesting concept would be an actual live webcast with some measure of user-feedback. Maybe pre or post online chats/interviews with the band members? Maybe the band could take live requests? Maybe the band could adjust their performance based on the number of viewers and the demographics? ("I see alot of people logging in from London... welcome! This one is for you...").
      • As opposed to the 30 year old blown speakers in some shitty club, cranked up way past the limits of the system, pumping out more distortion than music? Not that there aren't good sounding systems out there, but it's not likely this band is going to be playing on one, in your area, anytime soon.
      • Re:how (Score:4, Informative)

        by Reapy ( 688651 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @05:40PM (#14869916)
        There actually are some things like this in Second Life. A few musicians play weekly concerts in the game. They set up a streaming server, get a location in world, and people show up with the avatars and listen to person playing, who is also present in world. Often on the stream they will comment on the chat between songs and take requests.

        Granted the quality and flavor is that of a local bar rather then a "profesional" concert, but I found the experience to be quite unique.
      • A great excample of live webcasting is Levon Helm's "Midnight Ramble Sessions". For a resonable fee you get to watch Levon's band and guests live from his studio in Woodstock, NY. http://www.levonhelm.com/midnight_ramble.htm [levonhelm.com] I pay my $ and my friends and I watch on the big screen from the computer projector. My Band www.deepwoodsband.com
      • Re:how (Score:3, Interesting)

        by BlueStrat ( 756137 )
        Actually apparently these are not even live. They are recorded daily and rebroadcast. From TFA:
        Thom uses a webcam to record a nightly performance before broadcasting it on the net later in the evening. (Emphasis added.)

        So actually this is just drumming up support by webcasting performances you do in your basement. Still a good idea, but as you say this is no substitute for going to a live show. Sure you save the costs of going on tour, but real music lovers will be much more willing to spend money on a live
      • It would have been nice if they had had something like this when the who did tommy way back when. the live show was the best, but would be great to re live over and over again. posted this from cell phone, but i could not log on as my user cayenne8 :(
  • by Nosferax ( 836254 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @03:49PM (#14869074)
    I don't know... sitting alone in front of my computer with my lighter just isn't the same...
  • by GillBates0 ( 664202 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @03:50PM (#14869083) Homepage Journal
    I'm kinda thankful they aren't trying out the traditional bathroom-singing business model. Granted, the acoustics are nice, but the visuals suck...except for female musicians, ofcourse.
  • by Anonymous Coward
    scratchy vocals and music. ... too many people logged on....&$@*(*$#^^^[NO CARRIER]

    Sounds like fun.
  • by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @03:53PM (#14869110) Homepage Journal
    Just 74 people watched Thom's first concert on February 24th. The concert on March 2nd drew 62,138 viewers.So, are there 62,064 people now sifting through the piracy sites for a torrent of an Xvid rip of the first one?
  • Go to licktheblade.com and let's see how many people show up at the next show...

    http://www.licktheblade.com/ [licktheblade.com]

  • Ironically enough... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by kotj.mf ( 645325 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @03:55PM (#14869128)
    Touring is about the only way an indie artist can make any money these days, at least in the US.

    Your margins on the merch are way better, and the beer is free.

    • by Shadarr ( 11622 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:05PM (#14869221) Homepage
      I was thinking the same thing. The new business model should be to give away the recordings because they were always a loss leader anyway, and make your money on live shows and merch. I would guess that she's generating a lot more buzz than she really should, just because she's doing something "new." Once this becomes the norm, it won't be viable.
      • by soupdevil ( 587476 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:27PM (#14869399)

        The assumption is that every artist is a live performer. While live performance is one talent, recording, remixing, songwriting, arranging, and many other musical skills don't lend themselves well to the stage. But music would be much poorer without them.

        There will always be a place for live bands. But I hope we as a society don't lose the ability to reward those who create music in other ways.
        • Nice thought there. I decided a long time ago that it was rather presumptuous of the "concertly-inclined" to decide that an artist had to tour in order to make any money. It's their music, let them choose their venue.
        • Ironic indeed... almost NO musicians make money from sales of recordings, because in a standard recording contract all the expenses of producing, manufacturing, packaging and marketing are deducted from the musician's supposed royalties before any payout. So the payout is usually zero, even years and years after a record is made. The exceptions are the very few artists like Madonna who not only sell a ton of records but negotiate smarter deals as they go along.

          In almost all cases the only way recording bene
          • Songwriters automatically make concrete royalties off of record sales. But songwriters are not guaranteed payment on public performances, because no one tracks individual performances. Songwriter royalties on public performances are based on sampling data, which ignores the long tail, and overpays the top 100. Same as it ever was...
        • The new business model should be to give away the recordings because they were always a loss leader anyway, and make your money on live shows and merch.

          The assumption is that every artist is a live performer. While live performance is one talent, recording, remixing, songwriting, arranging, and many other musical skills don't lend themselves well to the stage. But music would be much poorer without them.

          Indeed. It also makes the assumption that most of the money comes from merchandising and live perfor

      • The new business model should be to give away the recordings because they were always a loss leader anyway, and make your money on live shows and merch.

        That is not the new business model, its the only one.

        It kills me that someone actually thinks that one can be a millionaire for life because they spend a couple of weeks in a recording studio. Granted, some people do. Sting reportedly makes $2,000 a day off of "Every breath you take". Who pays this is beyond me. But still, that is "only" 0.75 mil a year
    • These days? That's the only way indie bands have ever been able to make any money...
    • "...and the beer is free."
      Unless you're the Blues Brothers.

      RAWHIDE!
  • As a musician . . . (Score:4, Interesting)

    by galonso ( 705202 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @03:59PM (#14869161)
    As a musician, I think this is very exciting. The 'alternative' conventional wisdom of late has been that marketing your band/music online is the wave of the future, but I'm not aware of a concerted (heh) streaming approach that includes performances. Most articles I've read push distribution and marketing in the traditional mp3 sort of sense.

    This reminds me of the time when bands were experimenting with slide shows (pre-automation) run by a 'stealth' band member alla early Human League to give a multimedia edge to their presentation. With current technology, why not have a web presence with streaming concert video 'events' as the center piece to the normal mp3 / wallpaper / avant design elements.

    Heck, why not have interative art featuring music and graphics based on the old quaint notion of a 'concept album' . . .

    • Limitations (Score:3, Interesting)

      by jd ( 1658 )
      Bandwidth on the Internet is a major problem. Well, unless it's sent out over multicast with reflectors serving those still using unicast-only ISPs. Good compression helps, of course, but good compression reduces quality and is expensive on CPUs.


      The problems are all solvable - don't get me wrong - but it takes either a lot of money or someone with a lot of skill to get something like that set up, and the skill option is the only scalable one.

      • Two words: Google Video. Google has PLENTY of bandwidth.
      • Multicast probobly wont happen in any meaningfull way because providers cant figure out how to charge for it.

        For example, if netconcert.com sends out a concert to 20 people via unicast, thats 20 connections going out and its easy to follow those 20 packets and find out who has to pay who.
        But, if that goes out over multicast, one packet leaves the server and is split into multiple packets. How do you charge for that?
        • by jd ( 1658 )
          It depends on the method used for handling group membership, but I -think- it is possible to query the current multicast membership list. If evil.provider.net were to provide multicast but require that session reservation be done through them, they could have a script which periodically scanned the membership list. The total number of viewers would then be the total number of unique members of the group for the duration of the session, which could be directly billed for.

          evil.provider.net could also opt to c

    • Did the line "marketing in the traditional mp3 sort of sense." make anyone else feel old? That MP3s can be considered traditional makes me feel old... my first bought recording was a 12" LP for god's sake!
  • by Flwyd ( 607088 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:00PM (#14869172) Homepage
    Concert attendees didn't have to pay $5 to get a beer from the fridge.
    • But stagediving off the living room couch is kinda lame though.
    • Beers must be cheap at your shows...
    • by Anonymous Coward
      No convenience fees paid to TicketBastard (TicketMaster) either!
  • I run toqerTV [205.188.215.229], the only live streaming broadcast of karaoke in the world. You may not like karaoke and terrible singing, but if you like seeing drunk girls jump up and down then we're for you.

    I did try to do real musicians one sunday. For about 5 hours we broadcasted various local rap artists. Ratings online sucked, and everyone that came to the show just ordered water.
  • Playing the world? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fak3r ( 917687 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:13PM (#14869286) Homepage
    I thought this article was going to be a slam at the standard /. meme; a loaner living in his parents basement playing World of Warcraft all hours of the night!

    As it stands, it's a nice idea to try and spread music/art this way, but it will *never* come close to providing the atomosphere/feeling that one gets at a concert or art gallery.
  • I think this is an excellent opportunity for an upcoming musician/band. It gets you some publicity, people can check you out, and maybe they'll remember your name once you actually play in a club somewhere. Perhaps you could even sell your music this way - and you'd cut out the middle man and actually get more than the measly 16cents or so. It's going to be word-of-mouth, but that works often enough.
  • by edmicman ( 830206 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:17PM (#14869323) Homepage Journal
    Nothing like being in the mosh pit by yourself in front of the computer. And my mom wonders why I keep breaking all my stuff!
  • Success? (Score:4, Funny)

    by XMilkProject ( 935232 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:30PM (#14869426) Homepage
    1st Show: Unheard of band attracts 74 brave souls. 2nd Show: Word of mouth brings 62,138 happy listeners. 3rd Show: Slashdot effects takes down your server before the show starts. 4th Show: Your still trying to pay all the extra bandwidth charges from Show #3.
  • by Leviathant ( 558659 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:37PM (#14869479) Homepage
    Whenever I go to see a band play, it usually smells kinda funny at the venue. Sometimes the singer gets the words wrong, or the drummer messes up on my favorite fill. I usually have to drive an hour to the nearest decent venue, spend money on parking, and all that. The songs don't sound the same as they do on the CD, and the musicians aren't nearly as attractive as they looked on the album artwork.

    That's why I like to buy DVDs of my favorite bands performing "live" in my living room. It's all the excitement of seeing my favorite band, without having to worry about the microphones not working, and especially without the bother of other people. I can pause the performance and go pee without anyone offering me illicit drugs. If you time it right, you might even get a package deal at the FYE, where you can get a discount on a concert tshirt if you buy the DVD at the same time. AND! And the concert's in 5.1! I don't think most venues are set up to play in 5.1 surround sound yet, they're still only outputting stereo.


    No one ever says, Dude, you remember watching that concert at Matt's place in 2002? That was amazing!

    • go pee without anyone offering me illicit drugs

      Dude, that's the best part!

    • by teamhasnoi ( 554944 ) <teamhasnoi AT yahoo DOT com> on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:55PM (#14869648) Journal
      That's why I like to buy DVDs of my favorite bands performing "live" in my living room.

      I am interested in playing your 'living room' venue, but I have a few questions. What capacity is it? Does the band provide the DVD, or is the recording done 'in house'?

      Are food and drink provided in the dressing room, or trailer?

      What are your preferred set times, and who do I need to send the stage plot to?

      Thanks for your attention,
      teamhasnoi - The Schmoejoes

      • And most importantly - can you fit a 60' inflatible pig in the living room?

        For that accurate home/festival experience, place your TV at the bottom of the garden, and watch through the kitchen window. If you need to pee, wait for 30 mins at the bathroom door first. Or just do it behind the sofa, everyone else does.
  • by johnthorensen ( 539527 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:41PM (#14869530)
    I'm a resident of Second Life [secondlife.com], an online virtual world. Very different than a MMORPG, it's basically an open-ended place for people to socialize, build, et cetera. Second Life is also unique in that you own the copyright of any content you create in-world. This has lead to some really creative and clever objects.

    More to the point though, the phenomenon of live music has really taken hold within Second Life. There are several artist residents (Astrin Few and Flaming Moe are two I can think of) who hold regular concerts, play in virtual taverns, and overall take advantage of the relatively cultured community that exists within the world (the client supports streaming audio via ShoutCast servers). I also know of a Live Music Festival (organized by a resident named Nethermind Bliss) that will be happening this year, with both a true live venue on the east cost and a virtual venue in-world. This hybrid event will be a great opportunity to expose residents to some talented artists.

    -JT
    • The music scene in SL is really exploding. Another of the "old guard" of pioneering performers in SL is Frogg Marlowe and he often (usually) plays with (at the same time) Jaycatt Nico. Recently a pretty good number of us have started making our way onto the virtual stages around SL. I go by Kaklick Martin and perform at least a few times a month, Melvin Took, Slim Warrior, Cylindrian Ruttabega, Mel Cheeky, DimiVan Ludwig... all artists worth going and checking out. I know there are many I'm missing here, th
    • by metlin ( 258108 ) * on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @06:07PM (#14870205) Journal
      I'm a resident of real life.

      Very different from a make-believe world, we meet together every weekend and play music, build things, socialize etc etc. Even in our real worlld, we own the copyrights to the things we create.

      For example, just last week, we built a bed for my apartment which I own. All of this has led to some really creative and clever objects, such as lego beer dispensers.

      Anyway, more to the point, music has really taken hold in our real lives. Me and my friends go to concerts, and we even play in a local band! There are several bars (Hofbrauhaus and Beer Sellar are two I can think of) where real musicians play in real bars with real beer and real women with real boobs. Okay, maybe not the last one. Sadly, not all of us are a cultured people, but it has however taught us such things as tolerance. For those of us do like tolerance, we go to these things called musicals, orchestras and theatre plays.

      I also know of these music festivals like the Celtic and Renaissance music festivals that have been happening for a couple of hundred years, where once again you get to meet real *shudder* people. Those that like this can actually go to the websites (virtual, virtual!) and look up cool stuff.

      More important to the point, doing this has taught me and my friends some good social skills, gotten us free beer and live music - and sex.

      But go ahead, though. I'm sure a virtual life is infinitely more enjoyable. I mean, we sure as hell can't do all that stuff in real life, right? Right?
      • You don't understand.. he is a resident.. he lives there.
      • ok. I live in Hawaii. How in the real world am I going to communicate and be amused with girls in Paris if I dont do it online? I know, there are plenty of beautiful and sexy girls in Hawaii. And I have beautiful, sexy times with them. But Paris girls are different. Vive la difference. They are cultured and fun in other ways, and I dont mean we spend all night talking about Sartes in French. Actually isnt a lot of social interaction really conversation and just talking? The physical stuff is not that big
  • It seems that she is really selling exclusitivity (is that a word?) in the sense that her @home shows are all sold out. Obviously, you can't sell out a stream (within hardware limitations), but she is also peddling 10 seats at the physical location.

    This twist is new enough that it's going to get her some eyeballs, and some fans - who will hopefully go on to buy the physical merch, such as CDs, tshirts and the like...or better yet, tell their pals.

    I can't see this working for everyone - she's really going

  • by TheLongshot ( 919014 ) on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @04:50PM (#14869600)
    Ozric Tentacles did a live broadcast over the internet back in 98. It was later released on CD as "Spice Doubt". Course, it was audio only back in those days.

    I'm sure others have done it as well.

  • Freebird!

    -s
  • I've been looking at a Carnegie Mellon peer-2-peer software to do just this. Check it out at http://esm.cs.cmu.edu./ [cs.cmu.edu] I like it because it uses peer-2-peer to keep things FREE. Has anyone used anything similar to do free broadcasts?
    Paul
  • FAP FAP FAP FAP FAP FAP FAP http://www.sandithom.com/ [sandithom.com] much better...
  • ...one COULD become a rockstar in one's own parent's basement after all!!! Will the technology wonders never cease?! ;P
  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @05:54PM (#14870054)
    ..I'm giving a CONCERT!

    Heh.. I'll have to remember that one.

    I mean, I would have to remember it if I actually lived in my parent's basement, which I don't. I mean, if they had a basement. Uhh.
  • by Bucc5062 ( 856482 ) <bucc5062@gmai l . c om> on Tuesday March 07, 2006 @06:02PM (#14870155)
    From tfa..."In the past eight days she has entertained more than 250,000 fans worldwide"

    From 70, to 62000, to 250,000 listeners. What an incredible way to build a base before she (and the band) go out and do tours. This is also just what RIAA *does not want to happen*. Young unkown band gets found not by some way over paid agent of musical darkness, but by the people themselves. A great example of what the interent *can* do for the masses and the individual.

    Next step for this band and others to follow; produce and deliver an Album (as in collection of songs, not vinyl) that can be offered to those 250,000+ fans and growing without ever burning one CD. TCO to the band, nada for RIAA. The biggest obstacle I would see is they (and any band) would have problems booking gigs in larger venues without greasing the wheels of the venue promoters who are most likely in the pockets of the music industry.

    IAOASD (I am only a software developer) so I may only see the rose through my glasses, but this could be the mouse that roared.

    Music is not bad either.
    • [The biggest obstacle I would see is they (and any band) would have problems booking gigs in larger venues without greasing the wheels of the venue promoters who are most likely in the pockets of the music industry.]

      One immediate thought would be to find some way to pre sell tickets with money back if no show. Go to the venue with a sold out concert and see if they change their tune.

      At least you might make the news when the venue refuses to play a pre sold out concert.

      all the best,

      drew
    • Next step for this band and others to follow; produce and deliver an Album (as in collection of songs, not vinyl) that can be offered to those 250,000+ fans and growing without ever burning one CD.

      There are many netlabels [archive.org] already doing this. Is that what you mean?
    • IAOASD, but I think the next step for the band might be, oh, shot in the dark, transforming "fans" into "customers". And then they're going to learn the fundamental truth of the dot-com bubble -- eyeballs do not equal dollars. CD distribution contracts, on the other hand, do -- the entire "stable" model of publishing is that you get some money up front plus a (comparitively small) rake of the total in return for Team Lesser Evil subsidizing the marketing campaign that has proven success in actually convin
  • Yet more nails have been driven into the coffin for the RIAA.

    They had planty of time to see the writing on the wall and now all we see are their desparate kicking and screaming as they slowly sink into oblivion.

    "You'll pay the price for your lack of vision" indeed. That line certain holds well for the recording industry. Technology has evolved to the point that we don't need them anymore and they are terrified that people will find that out. When they do, and its starts to explode there will be putting t
  • While I'm not sure why this is news and sort of hope she paid someone for the plug -

    In meatspace there is the element of risk. Performance comes in real time like sports. If you blow it in the first 10 minutes, you have 45 to get them back. The audience feels the risk and likes it. This is why playing to a prerecorded track inevitably is duller - I call it the hidden hand of the master. They want to see you on a limb, if they know the limb can break, even better.

    This is no different than posting to youtube
    • The band is pulling an audience of over 260K people without radio airplay or record industry promo.

      That sounds like they're either economically viable or will be real soon now using an all-Internet business model... this is proof of concept. They've managed the "fastest selling debut album of all time".

      That's news.

      Most of us have been saying for years that we'd have a breakout album from an unknown without the help of an record industry label sooner or later. Well, this is now, and the beginning of the

      • >Most of us have been saying for years that we'd have a breakout album from an unknown without the help of an record industry label

        Does the phrase Dave Mathiews Band ring a bell? Old enough to remember NWA? (first record) Drunk enough to know Black 47? All bands that got deals later.

        Pulling over 260k people. To a show? No, to a webcast.

        >her live audiences usually total about 200 when she plays in clubs around Britain.

        --

        >That sounds like they're either economically viable or will be real soon now us
  • The bands website is short on technical details ... but earlier today, the streaming video (and audio)seemed to be fairly snappy - anyone know how the heck they are handling the load streaming to these thousands of people at once?

    Also, the frame rate appeared to be pretty good and decent image quality - compare to watching paint dry webcam [watching-paint-dry.com] - gotta be a decent webcam - anyone know what is being used.

  • of the music business.

    Now, if only John Hughes, the manager of my favorite band, The Corrs, would get over his Net phobia about downloads and get with the program.

    Their Web site is inadequate, they don't stream video, they don't record video of their concerts, they're seriously fucking up. I could probably get them another million album sales in the US if they'd get their act together vis-a-vis the Net.

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