Ah, this could be a long list...

In random order (by the way, this also includes NGHFB-related things):

1) Their pre-digital and pre-internet marketing strategies. This includes album announcements six months before the release date, poor and inadequate usage of social media, shit merchandising, crap and pricey online store, incomplete back catalogue on streaming/buying platforms, unexplainable fear of leaked iTunes clips, etc.

2) The half-arsed DM and WTSMG reissue. Thank god they got things right with BHN!

3) Marcus Russell. I don't know the man obviously, but I believe (my personal opinion) that he has a lot more influence on Noel than most people think. He might have convinced Noel that the AA album would have been a flop, for example. I strongly believe that this man is one of the reasons behind Noel's lack of courage in post-BHN releases.

And now, last for now but certainly not least:

4) The appalling, shameful and filthy threats which were sent to Jim because of his RKID blog, which has been for years the reason why many people (myself included) turned from casual fans into hardcore and money-squanderer fanatics.
I've said this before but I'll say it again: without Jim's blog, my hard-earned money would have never found its way into Ignition's pockets, so here's a big FUCK YOU to the blind man who decided that RKID001/002/003 posed a danger to the official Oasis releases. It did the exact opposite thing, you moron! Free publicity provided by the fans who shared promos/bootlegs/etc that they bought with their own money.

Ah, the great Marcus Russell - a man so obsessed in propping Noel's luddite attitude to music that he probably ran a fucking mile if there was anything much as a maraca on an album.

Let's not forget the absolutely awful promotion for the Supersonic documentary. Where's our trailer???

And it's also worth pointing out that their terrible marketing has an impact on sales. Look at The Shock of the Lightning, the lead single by a band as big as Oasis, only charted number 3 in the UK - the first time an Oasis lead single had missed the #1 spot since Supersonic! IIRC this had to do with an unnecessary delay between the first radio play and the digital release of the song. This is the age of the internet - people lose interest after five minutes, let alone a few days.

I'd be willing to bet that Noel has lost a considerable amount of money from the poor promotion of his solo albums, particularly Chasing Yesterday. If I were Noel, I'd give Ignition the axe ASAP.

guigsysEstring could do a million times better

One thing I really can't stand for is them posting fan-uploaded 240p bootleg videos on the official social media accounts. Amateurs.

Even though it was 19 years ago, it was still a significant move, but..

Not releasing Don't Go Away as the lead single for BHN in the US.

They posted my supercut of Noel's DVD commentary on their official Facebook page the other day.

I think things have *slightly* improved in the past couple of years when it comes to social media/internet etc - at least with the reissues they do upload a couple of songs on YouTube before release.

I'd rather not share my opinion of Marcus Russell, because it isn't a very nice one...

Haha thanks for the compliment (I think!  ) I think in a post of old though I did say it would be useful to have had Lennon2217 as a partner to do the public face of it so my, ahem, 'unique' looks don't terrify all and sundry!   (Thinking about it that might have been about me and him as Dick Green and Alan McGee of Creation Records   )

Two things I would say on the subject which is firstly I like many people am good at looking at the Oasis circumstances in retrospect, which is easier than actually making decisions as a manager when you can't given a 100% guarantee of what will happen as a result of a course of action. In that respect I think you have to give Ignition leeway as some aspects of cultural changing tastes, fashion, etc. cannot be controlled no matter what you do in such an industry as music, and if an artist is no longer fashionable or has been left behind by the changing scene then all you can do is nurse them through that period as best you can, continue selling records and tickets to their core fan base and seeing if they can carry on earning a living and making it worthwhile to stay as an artist or band.

That said from as far back as 1995 there are decisions that even at the time I did wonder why they were being made, from Guigsy's replacement to the Be Here Now campaign in general, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants reaction to Guigsy and Bonehead departing and the subsequent way completing the record and new members was carried out, Heathen Chemistry, etc. I personally would have attempted to do a great deal differently at the time which I can honestly say as at the time as a fan I was thinking "Why are they doing that?" type questions.

The key element that is missed for me here though is Noel Gallagher- If Marcus Russell and Alec McKinley were Peter Grant and Richard Coles then in terms of a business relationship he was certainly Jimmy Page. Because of the way the Oasis record deal with Sony Music Entertainment and licensing to Creation Records was set up the band had an awful lot of clout. Noel as the songwriter for those first three albums was undoubtedly the band leader and primary decision maker, and I do believe at times whatever was said to him, e.g. Owen Morris during the Ridge Farm sessions for Be Here Now, and even if Marcus or Alec expressed doubts over certain aspects he would have been that convinced of his abilities or certain there was only one way that he would insist on proceeding with his decision regardless of it's merits or otherwise. The only person during that era to openly question him publicly was Liam, and that often was unfortunately put down to attitude, drugs and sibling rivalry by others.

It's been covered many times by myself and others so I won't analysis every aspect of Oasis career, but I will say that if certain early decisions were handled differently then it is entirely possible that later incidents would not have happened due to a change of course in events, and we could well be talking about a band with a very different sonic legacy who may still be making music together.

Releasing The Shock of the Lightning to radio/the internet a full month before its release date, only including a remix as a b-side, then wondering why it didn't get to #1

I think the Chasing The Sun reissues are a good case in point. The 'rarities' and live tracks put on there were largely uninspired and half-arsed. The quality of some of them made them all but unlistenable. Quite simply they couldn't be bothered to do any work on them or find better options.

There should also have been a DVD with them of promo videos, live performances etc with each one. The Be Here Now reissue is better but ultimately it all smacks of doing the bare minimum to get fans to buy it and squeeze a few more quid out of us.

I recommend anyone interested to check out John Niven's novel Kill Your Friends (he was an A&R man at a major label in the late 90s) to get an idea of how the music industry views the record-buying public. Don't bother with the film though, it's a bit shit.

HE absolutely nailed the A&R, board room and marketing attitudes of record companies, in particular the majors, especially in the 1990's