Does anyone here understand the legal status of concert tapes? I had thought that they were as illegal as bootleg copies of albums, but there seem to be quite a few people trading them openly on the internet (and unlike the mp3 traders, these guys have to give a real address). THey all seem to be very emphatic that they are _not_selling_anything_: is this some legal loophole that I don't know about?14 responses total.
It depends a great deal on the band, actually..
Whether it's illegal depends on the band, or how well-enforced the law is depends on the band?
Some bands (such as the Grateful Dead, to cite an extreme example) explicitly allow, even encourage, the taping of their live shows. I've been at at least one show where several fans making recordings of the show were provided access to the output from some of the sound equipment. I imagine there are a lot of bands that don't get to choose for themselves, however: my guess is that "normal" (whatever that means) recording contracts probably don't give most bands the option to freely permit fan recording. Then, too, there are some performers that really don't like to be recorded live.. To answer your question, I guess, yes -- whether it's illegal (or forbidden, which isn't necessarily the same thing) is a matter that for any given concert might be decided by a) the band, b) the band's record company, or even c) the rules of the concert venue..
The Grateful Dead approach was such that no one would make big bucks by selling thousands of copies of a rare bootleg. If bootlegs are common, then more likely only a dozen or less copies will be made of any one's recording.
I liked Frank Zappa's approach. He took the bootlegs and released them as offical albums. What could they do? Sue him? Psychic TV decided to release every concert they played on tape or CD. That's another effective approach.
In a recent interview on Mp3.com, a representative of the RIAA had an interesting argument with respect to the Grateful Dead. The RIAA rep argued that while the Dead are free to waive their rights with respect to the recordings their fans make, they cannot waive the rights of other people, in particular the songwriters. The Dead (used to) play a *lot* of covers.
Which does a great job of revealing the fundamental pettiness behind the RIAA's attitude. Nevermind that if all those Dead bootlegs were never traded that nobody (including the original songwriters) would have ever made *any* money off of them and that the record companies that have handled the Dead over the years would have sold thousands of times fewer Dead records if the bootleg scene hadn't built a cohesive cult following for the band. They'd much rather nobody made *any* money at all than take the chance that someone might make a dollar without them getting their cut. I think it's obscene of the RIAA, too, to claim to be acting in the songwriters' interests, especially considering the sorts of songs the Dead were most likely to cover and the likely attitude towards the creators' rights among the big record companies that fund the RIAA. I don't think there objection is wholly without basis -- in fact I think it's a decent point. I just am convinced that the RIAA doesn't give a rat's ass for the individual songwriters who may have lost money.
oh is _that_ why Zappa has so many albums out?
I'm sorry, brain fart. For "RIAA" in myy resp:6, please substitute "ASCAP". ASCAP is an organization which looks after the interests of songwriters, which is why they expressed concerns over the songwriters of the material covered by the Dead. As I wrote it, it doesn't make much sense. Yeargh.
It's a much more sensible objection coming from ASCAP..
It is my understanding, but perhaps incorrectly so, that copyright owners of published, recorded songs cannot prevent anyone from making and selling their own cover recordings of that song, so long as royalties are paid. I am not sure, however, if that would apply to authorized (a la Grateful Dead) bootlegs.
Well, and in any case the problem with bootlegs is that royalties _aren't_ paid.
(I'm surprised, with all the crap and goings on with Napster, that this item hasn't gotten more hits.) Royalties are monies paid to the originator of the work by an second party who wishes to perform that work. Royalties only enter the picture when Person B want's to perform/cover Person A's music, and generally, only in a recording-oriented manner. Theres a lot of bands/performers who do improptue covers of other artists' music; perhaps here is where the royalties get lost, but it's such a minimal "loss" IMO as to be ridiculous to even remark upon. The recording companies that argue against bootlegging are mostly whining about money loss. But I would say that the more important complaint would be one posed by the artists: live bootlegged music is not always the best presentation for the music, as it lacks the control provided by professional sound engineers. And most musicians I know (being one myself, I have to agree) would rather be in control of what is presented to the world as their work, rather than be at the whim of the public's (often limited) capacity to capture their artistry and distribute it. In recent years, a lot of musicians have recognized the listeners' desire for more "live" recordings and have responded. This is pretty smart. Not only does it assuage the artists' worries about how live works are presented to their audiences in recorded format, but it fills the listeners' want and compels those listeners to catch a live show. Shows are major money making events for musicians, as much and often more important than record sales when it comes to the bottom line. The quality of today's music scene is very much geared toward recordings presenting the music in a basic, polished form and performances providing a platform for the music to take on the life and spirit the performer intends for it.
When I was in Borders last week, I noticed the big ?Pearl Jam? set of live recordings, made to beat the bootels. A disk for most every city they toured. Of course, $18 or $19 each. Collect all 34!
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