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Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Jan. 21 2008, 16:13 I had a fairly lengthy conversation with Universal earlier today. As you probably know already, mikeoldfield.com is now in their hands, and as The Big BellEnd noted in another topic, they have indeed seen all the stuff we rattle on about here . In particular, it's been noted that people here aren't terribly happy with the way mikeoldfield.com is at the moment. They seem very committed to making it something which Mike's fans will enjoy visiting, so they've asked if we have any suggestions for things we'd like to see on it. I think it's mainly content ideas they're looking for at the moment, and ways of improving what's already there (like the anomalies in the discography which Ugo mentioned), as opposed to how the site could be redesigned, though that might come later... So...over to you - what would you like to see? Back to top

Matt Group: Admins Posts: 1186 Joined: Nov. 2002 Posted: Jan. 21 2008, 16:43 birth announcements   -------------- "I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels" Back to top

bee Group: Members Posts: 1227 Joined: Jan. 2004 Posted: Jan. 21 2008, 16:46 First of all congratulations to everyone at Tubular.net, administrators & contributors alike! Good work being recognised in the right places is always nice to see. Generally the discussions are interesting and as diverse as Mike's music itself, which keeps it all fresh. But there's more to this site than just the forum. And that's why it's kept me hooked for a few years now. You can find out stuff here. As for Mike.com, well it's great to see that coming to life again. These days, a new audience may look to the record company first for info, but then find the Tubular link, ha ha! Maybe there could be competitions, or subtle, tasteful, stylish merchandise (with approval naturally) and I don't mean rubbish, there are many talented designers that could come up with original ideas... to get the name out there. For years I proudly drove my car with a Dark Star  car sticker, then sold the car & was unsuccessful removing the sticker intact. Never got around to getting another. If it's good it'll get noticed. There must be a hundred other things that could be done. Ofcourse, info regarding release dates, possible concerts etc would be very welcome too...And a word or two from Mike once in a while would be lovely, then we'd know he was OK! After all he has certainly started something in all of our lives!!! -------------- ....second to the right and straight on till morning.... You heard me before Yet you hear me again Then I die Till I call me again Back to top

Matt Group: Admins Posts: 1186 Joined: Nov. 2002 Posted: Jan. 21 2008, 18:04 Some background articles would be good. For instance at the moment with a couple of months to go for the MOTS release we could have a short article every week or fortnight from someone involved in its creation. Ideally Karl, Lang Lang or Haley but I think it would be interesting to hear from anybody (flute player? Sound engineer? ). What was their experience... Longer term when they aren't awaiting a new release could they dig up someone involved in previous work for similar articles. I know we have occasionally been blessed here at tb.net with comments from Simon Phillips and Tim Cross for instance which have been very interesting. -------------- "I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels" Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: Jan. 21 2008, 20:06 Quote (bee @ Jan. 21 2008, 18:46) For years I proudly drove my car with a Dark Star  car sticker, then sold the car & was unsuccessful removing the sticker intact. Never got around to getting another. My car has got the Dark Star sticker,and I'm proud of it. Good to hear that Universal wanna hear what we can suggest them to make MO.com much better. -official merchandaise: it's one of the things I do miss -an official biography,more for newbies -better layout -interviews,videos,multimedia stuff -Mike's blog - to see what's on I'll think on some other ideas,then I'll post later. -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

Olivier Group: Super Admins Posts: 1868 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: Jan. 21 2008, 20:49 - Free long samples ("elements"), posted in some sort of blog with anecdotes on their birth, recording, etc. by Mike and guest bloggers. - T-shirts and mugs with Hans & Marko artwork - Newly composed ringtones Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: Jan. 21 2008, 21:25 Quote (Olivier @ Jan. 21 2008, 22:49) - T-shirts and mugs with Hans & Marko artwork MO cartoons from Marko \o/ -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

3Wheeler Group: Members Posts: 828 Joined: Aug. 2007 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 03:42 mmmmm things that Could be usefull.. 1, A Juke Box     with a lot of hard to get B Sides or alternative mixes  .. 2, A Video Box .. 3, A Official Merchandise shop .. 4  A Message Board.. 5  Re Install the Games Forums   Thats about it for now.. -------------- We're Flying Aeroflot, We've Got Reservations. Back to top

olracUK Group: Members Posts: 1683 Joined: June 2003 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 05:00 Great news, and testimony to the hard work of our Admins here. What would I like on MO.com? Excerpts from Changeling More frequent news, perhaps a blog (but that's probably expecting too much of Mike to write personal stuff when he's so private) Merchandise - T-Shirts, old tour replica stuff etc Simple flash games like album cover jigsaws, repeat the musical notes etc But any activity is better than none. -------------- The answer is 42 - but what is the question? Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 05:40 It would be nice to see some renewed interest in the MVR games over there. I'm not sure what form this could take - maybe a revival of something like the old MVR forum would be a start, but with an effective administration. We were always a small community, but a significant contributory factor to its decline was that administration of the forum gradually ceased, and since none of us had administrative or moderating privileges, nothing could be done. I suspect that a renewed 'official' interest in MVR at Mike.com would pull in new players and contributors. One obvious simple addition that could be done straight away would be to have a direct link from the MVR section there to the Tr3s Lunas Guide here on Tubular.net. I've pondered from time to time the possibility of making a Maestro Guide, but I think the last time I raised the question here, only myself and Trinidad were available to contribute, so the idea wasn't feasible really. However, with an upsurge at MO.com, some life in that idea might be sparked off again. Back to top

Ciderginaspro Group: Members Posts: 90 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 05:48 an official merchandise shop which sells some scores of Mike's music   Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 13:58 It certainly seems like merchandise is a popular idea and I do agree it would be nice. I think the key with that would be finding a way of handling it. Of course there are places which offer stuff like print to order t shirts which do everything from handling the order to the printing itself, but my experience with one of the larger ones wasn't too good (the print washed off after a few weeks). There's also the related issue with them of how you have no way of keeping an eye on the quality of what's being sent out - the last thing I'd want would be for it to become some kind of rip off shop where shifting merchandise takes precedence over quality. That's not me saying 'no, bad idea' - I think it's a great idea! It's just something that I think is going to need investigating a bit and which might meet with some resistance from the people at the top unless we can convince them that there's a solution which is both reliable and easy for them. I think getting a link to the Tres Lunas guide will be no problem, and if you want to create a Maestro guide here, I imagine we can get that linked to as well. We can maybe talk about those ideas a bit more to see what's going to be best for the Music VR enthusiasts. I definitely think some unique content would be a good thing, and I've said that already - I really think the focus ultimately needs to be on providing things that only the official website can. I'm not sure how keen Mike is on being involved, but it would definitely make sense to bring him into it as much as possible - having his comments on the albums in the discography, for example. Some behind the scenes features would of course also be great... We'll see what comes out of all this - keep the ideas coming! Back to top

manintherain Group: Members. Posts: 546 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 16:21 What would I like to see? Anything that hasn´t been published before. May it be a personal photograph or some kind of video or whatever. Anything that has to do with the making of the albums. How about producing some CDs/DVDs with unfinished material that shows the production process. I´m sure there will be a clientel willing to pay for. And it pays off as you can see with Marillion. They have the so called Front Row Club selling rare recordings from the sound desk. Then they have albums with demos, sketeches and outtakes, and I´m sure Mike still has a lot of it sitting in his vaults. So c´mon Mike. We´re desperate. I know you can make it. You already have by making available the original demos to Tubular Bells on my special demand (The Raft Interview, June 8th 2001). Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease! Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 18:27 Quote (manintherain @ Jan. 22 2008, 18:21) Anything that hasn´t been published before. May it be a personal photograph or some kind of video or whatever. One of the things I've missed on Changeling was the lack of pictures from his childhood/teenager days(before Sallyangie).I remember watching on Heaven and Earth interview in 2002 a 8mm video featuiring Mike aged 5,which was great to see I know it's hard,but what about releasing some DVDs with unreleased video stuff,like the whole performance on NNOTP 2006(this one it's quite hard,because of the copyright from PSE Germany),the Warner era videos,and some surprises for the fans,llike behind the scenes stuff. A space for MusicVR...maybe now people are ready to enjoy both games! C'mon Mike,now you're more and more confortable on your skin,and on Changeling you've complained that in the 70's you couldn't defend progressive music in the media,now you can,I'm sure -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

Marky Group: Members Posts: 390 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 19:01 Look it's very simple! If Universal want to make this site the site that all fans turn to what they need is a good understanding with Mike Oldfield himself about what he is prepared to do for it. Merchandise, releases, forthcoming product is all very easy to post but the point is we'd get this one way or another. What we want, and need, to make us come back frequently, by which I mean once a month or more at least, is something we cannot get anywhere else and is unique to the site. That means an update from Mike about his work, his musical interests, anybody he's met or spoken to, worked with, his studio activities, stuff he's reading, listening to, interviews he has given to the media, etc...in short, the snippets that are hard to come by. Vital is sound. He's a musician. A 30-second excerpt from the studio on something he's got in progress or is just messing with for fun even if it never surfaces again would be gold dust. An idea for an album, a chance to vote on a track title, maybe, a photograph of him working or relaxing that is exclusive...this site cannot site idle for months and it does not take much to give it a personality that cannot be reproduced anywhere else, but what is FUNDAMENTAL is buy-in from Mike Oldfield and without that Universal should not even bother to mess with it. If Mike does not contribute substantially then Universal should dust the site off and make it fresh every year or so to make it worth looking at again, and currently it is only worth looking at every new album, Mike must give them ten good quality mins on the phone every week or month at the least, or a digital photo from fanny or clip, etc. This is the least fans expect from other artists now the internet has moved us all closer together. Even a Q and A page that Mike answers (he can even chose his own Qs and ignore the ones he doesn't want to reply to...) would be interactive. The point is, no Oldfield, no point. One other question: what does Mike himself want? If nothing, a quiet life, then forget it now. But might he want a quirky moment, a serious moment, a bit of feedback on something, to inform, to provoke, to test? Could he give us a 30 second video of him playing the northumbrian bapipes one month? A live video arm wrestling contest with Richard Branson? (Ok, its Universal so maybe not, but you get the idea). Etc, etc.... All other Mike Oldfield fan services have suffered from lack of enough access or sufficiently meaningful to him or his representatives. It does not take a lot but it must happen on a very regular basis or it simply has no reason to attract people back to it: the fundamental basis for all websites to exist. If Universal cracks that, they will have a very loyal and highly engaged audience for their site. They should not bother with too much interactivity as we come here for community. If they can beat Tubular.net for that then great but I doubt they will. Unless Mike is online once a month for a live chat...but don't reproduce what is already working elsewhere. Content must be regular and unique and it must be informative. Even access to Mike's diary would provide some interesting news.  If Universal they can't do this all the time it, they could sometimes broker it - somebody said interviews with his collaborators. OK, maybe we can't get access to Lang lang, Karl J, etc - but Universal can - they may not have the time to do a proper feature or interview, but they could set it up for somebody who does. They can use their muscle to open doors and broker this. A turgid and Long answer - my apologies. I have run websites and managed communications for several types of organisations, so I say all this with a degree of confidence. Its a simple thing to achieve if Mike wishes to see it done. Without him, it will not happen and Universal, like his fan groups, will not have the material to make the site tick over. We, my friends, have each other for that. Are you listening, Maestro? Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 20:30 I couldn't agree more on most of those points, Marky and like I said before, the importance of both providing things which only a site directly linked with Mike can and of keeping that involvement from his side regular is something I stressed myself in my initial conversation. I think any serious involvement from Mike may come slowly and I fear may ultimately not last long. It may be best to look at this exercise as trying to make the best of a 'bad' job - the site has to exist even if it can't be perfect, simply because they want to maintain some kind of official presence on the web. What I think has to be done is for all the possible options to be explored. There are things like Alan's suggestion of a link to the Tres Lunas guide, for example, which are quite small, but are easily achievable - similar goes for correcting information in the discography and so on. There are then things like the suggestions for a store and various features which would take more organising, but can be done without Mike's constant involvement. Then of course there are the things which really can only be done by Mike himself... Those things in that latter category are indeed the most interesting and ultimately the things which are going to make mikeoldfield.com a really worthwhile site - what's Mike Oldfield's website without Mike Oldfield, after all? I think they'll also be the most difficult to achieve, unfortunately. You're right, Marky - it's simple in so many ways...but it's Mike. If there's a system in place that makes his involvement an attractive thing to him as well as to us then maybe - maybe - he'll actually stick at it. What I'm really getting at is that though a lot of us can see what the absolute ideal solution would be, we shouldn't expect to see it too quickly. What I'm trying to do here is look to see if there are any ideas which someone can work with to make fairly quick improvements. Leaving the site as it is right now is an option - if the ultimate conclusion is "if Mike's not going to take an interest, it's not worth bothering", then so be it...but I think there are at a good few things which have come up here which are worth looking into. It'll no doubt take a while of talking through ideas before we really have much of an idea of what's actually realistic. I can only say that we (that is, those of us on the tubular.net side) will do all we can to help mikeoldfield.com be as good as it can be. 'All we can' may ultimately turn out to be a lot, or next to nothing - I really don't know at this stage. We need to explore that, and being armed with a few ideas of what people want to see (and most usefully, having concrete evidence that people want to see those things, in the form of this topic - I think we can count that as market research ) will be very helpful in doing that. Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Jan. 23 2008, 01:14 Desktop Wallpapers. Of course, Tubular.net has a nice existing collection but, since I change frequently, I'm of the opinion that one can never have too many. -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Jan. 23 2008, 03:14 Quote (Korgscrew @ Jan. 22 2008, 18:58) I think getting a link to the Tres Lunas guide will be no problem, and if you want to create a Maestro guide here, I imagine we can get that linked to as well. We can maybe talk about those ideas a bit more to see what's going to be best for the Music VR enthusiasts. I've started a new discussion thread here about the possibility of building a Maestro Guide. If anyone has thoughts about that, please leave a comment there. Back to top

Matt Group: Admins Posts: 1186 Joined: Nov. 2002 Posted: Jan. 23 2008, 03:26 Quote (Korgscrew @ Jan. 23 2008, 01:30) Those things in that latter category are indeed the most interesting and ultimately the things which are going to make mikeoldfield.com a really worthwhile site - what's Mike Oldfield's website without Mike Oldfield, after all? I think they'll also be the most difficult to achieve, unfortunately. You're right, Marky - it's simple in so many ways...but it's Mike. If there's a system in place that makes his involvement an attractive thing to him as well as to us then maybe - maybe - he'll actually stick at it. How about a section of the site where Mike answers questions posed by visitors? You could pop a question in a text box, site administrators could choose maybe one question a month or something and ping Mike an E-mail so try and get a short answer (or longer if Mike felt like it). If Mike would agree to do that occasionally it wouldn't require much effort from him I would hope as most of the management would be by site admin. Also, the administrators could filter out any questions containing the word "why"   -------------- "I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels" Back to top

a_r_schulz Group: Members Posts: 425 Joined: Sep. 2001 Posted: Jan. 23 2008, 05:40 A 24/7 TresLunas/Maestro server? Probably asking for too much, though, since that would require two windows (virtual) machines and regular maintenance, I'm afraid... Back to top

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