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Stolen moments
June 7 2002
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Online trading of unauthorised CDR recordings could spell the
end of
the
bootleg industry as we have known it, reports Jon Casimir.
Do you have a hankering to hear Bob Dylan's Pittsburgh show
from February
1966? Or tapes from 1961, before he was famous? How about his rehearsal
for
an MTV Unplugged special in 1994? The unreleased February 1969
recordings
he
did with Johnny Cash? A concert from the current Love and Theft Tour?
Then
head for the Bob Dylan Boot Database. It keeps track of hundreds
of
recordings of the whiny little guy. All of them - shows, session
out-takes,
unreleased songs, press conference tapes and other career offcuts -
are
unauthorised by Dylan or his recording company. That is to say,
they're
illegal. But that's not stopping them doing the rounds of a
highly
networked, technologically literate Web community.
The Boot Database doesn't sell any of these recordings.
Neither does
it make
them available for direct download. What it does is something much
simpler,
cheaper and more effective. It's a referral service, putting owners
of
bootlegs in contact with each other, nurturing a CDR trading circle
(Compact
Disc-Recordable, more formally CD-R, are discs you record on, or
burn,
once). Its core is a "Who Has Which Boot?" database, a searchable index
of
recordings cross-referenced with the people who own them.
The database user goes through a simple registration process
(which
includes
providing his or her own list of bootlegs), then requests a recording
via
email. According to the site, database queries can be run specifying
year,
date and location of the recording, as well as the presence of
other
performers. A return email is sent with contact details of members
who have
the right discs. The second trader gets in touch with the first
and
bartering ensues.
"Over the past seven years," the site says, "hundreds of Dylan
fans
have
contributed information about their 'unauthorised' recordings and
volunteered to serve as contacts. The Bob Dylan Bootleg Database
has
provided thousands of referrals."
The Boot Database is not the only site providing such a
service. Bob's
Boots
runs a smaller, more low-tech system, listing CDR traders for contact
in 28
countries (including a handful in Australia). And there are plenty
of
others. If you type "Bob Dylan CDR trading" into the Google search
engine,
you'll find more than 2000 matches. And the number increases
daily.
While you're there, try tapping in the name of any other major
act of
the
past 40 years and you'll find that although Dylan's fans are among
the most
organised of the online communities (they are, after all, the Star
Trek
geeks of the music world - obsessive, completist, encyclopedic in
their
knowledge), trading groups exist for an amazing range of acts.
Typing in "The Beatles CDR trading" will net you more than
2360 sites
to
hunt through. Change the band name to U2 and you'll get 2200. Kiss
returns
1980 matches, Pink Floyd 1850, Prince 1600, The Rolling Stones 1190
and
Bruce Springsteen 925, to name just a few. Local acts such as Midnight
Oil,
Silverchair, Crowded House will net 200 or 300 suggestions each. Some
of
these will lead to organised swap groups. Others are merely people
listing
their collections online and hoping other traders will stumble across
them.
But let's stick with the Bob example for a while longer. Those
who wish
to
research the bootlegs listed at the Boot Database before putting in
requests
can use sites such as DylanBase, which has catalogued more than
1000
bootlegs, representing an archive of 11,000 performances of
songs.
This place was set up to be "a giant bubbling information
centre", full
of
set lists, reviews, comments, trading lists and other information -
all
supplied by volunteers. Its chief claim to fame is its song search
engine -
if you want to find shows only at which Dylan played Series of Dreams
or
Subterranean Homesick Blues, you can. Deep Beneath The Waves is an
e-zine
devoted to reviewing only Dylan boots. But what do you do if you're
a keen Dylan
fan without any bootlegs to trade? Well, that's been sorted out, too.
Visit DylanTree, a
site which organises what traders call "trees", a simple and effective
model for the sharing of music.
CDR trees - which grow in many communities - work like this. A
person
who
has a recording posts a notice on site about it. Anyone who wants a
copy
then signs up to the specific "tree". Two people are chosen to send
blank
discs as well as return postage to the person at the top of the tree,
who
has the original CD recording. He then burns copies of the concert
and sends
it to them. These two people then receive blank discs and postage from
the
four people on the next branch level of the tree. And so on. In this
way,
one concert can be shared among many people without anyone having to
burn
more than two copies for anyone else.
And what do you do when these blank CDs turn up in the mail
and you
think:
"Gee, I wish they had cover art"? Well, Dylantree has links to a raft
of
amateur bootleg artwork sites which let users download high-quality
scans of
homemade album covers (with names, track listings and the relevant
recording
information) for laser printing. The quality of the graphic design
is as
surprising as the quality of some of the recordings.
The fact that a sub-community of artists has attached itself
to the
trading
community indicates the scope and passion of the activity. There are
even
free software programs for collectors who want to keep track of
their
trading. Indeed, what is most startling about this whole business is
the
level of organisation involved, the evolution that has taken place
in the
few short years that we've had both the Net and the CD burner.
The Dylanophiles, and other groups like them, are not just
networks,
they're
societies - people coming together with common purpose, common outlook
and a
well-defined moral code. At the core of that code is the idea, shared
among
all CDR trading communities, that this material should be shared rather
than
sold. Traders have managed, regardless of the law, to elevate
themselves,
at
least in their own eyes, to the moral high ground. As long as what
they're
doing is not about money, they argue, then everything is kosher. As
far as
they're concerned, CDR trading is an expression of love for the
artist,
evidence of commitment.
John Mazcko, a US university student who runs Mega Superior
Gold, a
Ryan
Adams site which fosters a CDR trading community for one of the hottest
new
stars of American music, says bootleg discs don't replace or compete
with
the official work of an artist. Rather, they augment it, fuelling the
ardour
among those who just can't get enough of the musicians they love.
"It may be illegal to trade," Mazcko says, "but I'm all about
the music.
I'm
definitely not ripping Ryan off at all. I can guarantee that just
about
anyone who has bootlegged shows of his stuff also has the original
albums."
Most trading sites have warnings not to sell or buy "field
recordings"
plastered all over them. The Dylan Database, for example, assures
visitors
that in all its time online, "not a single cent has changed hands -
the
service is strictly not-for-profit and hobby-oriented".
As no cash is flowing in either direction, and most people
trading are
likely to have bought everything the artist has offered them already,
the
traders may have a point when they argue they're not hurting anybody.
Add to
that an understanding that the kind of acts that are bootlegged are
mostly
the acts that are already successful and you have to wonder how
much
financial damage it does.
Mazcko reckons Adams has said at shows that he doesn't mind
being taped
and
seeing those recordings traded. And to be fair, there are acts out
there
(none on major labels, which routinely include contract clauses to
disallow
the practice) which let fans tape concerts - check the Bands That
Allow
Taping site for proof.
But the truth is that all the good intentions and supposedly
pure hearts
of
the traders don't make any of their activities less illegal. Music
industry
lawyer Shane Simpson says he has no doubt that what they do contravenes
the
copyright laws, which see no distinction between trading and selling.
Under
Australian law, anyone who performs on a recording must sign a
consent
before that recording can be released to the public - so if it
ain't
authorised, it ain't legal, whether money changes hands for it or
not.
"There's no question about that," Simpson says. "Bartering,
anything
- it
makes no difference. Even if it's a gift. Once you have made it
available
to
someone else, you're over the line."
However, Simpson says, the question of whether CDR trading is
legal
really
isn't that interesting. The interesting question, in an age where the
music
industry is paranoid about losing control of its product, is why aren't
the
CDR traders, who aren't exactly skulking in the dark corners of the
online
world, being prosecuted?
"It's a bit like home taping," he says. "No record company is
going
to pay
an expensive team of lawyers to get court orders to bust down the door
of
some 14-year-old girl in Kogarah to raid her bedroom and take a CD
burner.
Who'd want the flak?
"A lot of artists treat it [trading] as honorific. It happens
because
so
many people love them, and isn't that a lovely thing? Those that really
hate
it, I imagine, are put off by the expense of doing anything. I don't
know
what it would cost to run a case, but you'd want to have $100,000 in
the
kick before saying, 'This looks like a good idea'."
Even if an artist did want to try to stop the practice, he or
she would
be
faced with the realisation that suing members of the fanbase for
damages
would not just be bad publicity, it wouldn't return much cash. Then
there
would be the problem of knowing where to start. CDR trading is not
like
Napster - it doesn't have a centralised point of dissemination.
It's
thousands of people in their homes. So it's not a situation where you
could
kill the head and expect the body to die.
Simpson asks: "Exactly which of the Medusa heads do you
attack? There's
a
bit of a reality check when the artists go to their lawyer and the
lawyer
says, 'Sure, put the money in the trust account and let's spend the
next
three years chasing rabbits down holes.' Unless one of those Medusa
heads
really is high, and they're really making a business out of it, then
I don't
think it would be worth it."
This strange marriage of love and theft might last for a
while, then.
Infofile
The popularity of the CD burner has made trading possible.
Previously,
bootleg trading was mostly in cassette tapes. The advent of the CDR
has led
to an overall improvement in bootleg sound quality, too. Digital
audience
recordings have higher quality and the worldwide nature of the Net
means
radio and TV performances, wherever they are, can be copied and
circulated
among fans. If an artist tells the local community radio station in
Malmo,
Sweden, that it can broadcast a concert, then you can bet fans in
Sydney
will be hearing it the next week.
Copyright
© 2002 The Age Company Ltd
Note by Craig:
This reply has found need of being updated
several times over the course of the years to keep up with the latest
trends.
bobsboots.com is primarily a museum,
reference, & info page dedicated to commercial
Dylan
boots.
We neither trade nor sell. We have no vested interest in any entity
that participates in either of these activities.
We neither condone nor condemn selling of commercial boots.
We neither condone nor condemn CD-r trading.
However, the above article (as well as many traders) points out that no
money changes hands in trading.
That is a
fallacy.
The money is spent on the blank CD-r. Time (which
equates to money)
is spent burning the copy. When a trade is made, a profit of that time
and material is realized.
The legal systems in virtually every country rightly views any such
barter transaction as a profit gained.
There are some traders and trading websites that try to put themselves
on a 'higher moral ground' because they lean toward
trading CD-r rather than selling commercial (silver
master) discs. The
two are equivalent. However you view
one, you must also view the other. The world operates on a barter
system. You trade your time for the
things that you want. Money is simply
a convenience that allows your time to be distributed even to those
who have no need of your barter.
The stance that bobsboots.com takes on these activities is this:
1) The artist should have full rights to his / her material to
decide what gets released to the public and what does not..
As we do not live in this utopian reality (and never have)......
2) As there is an intrinsic value associated with commercial,
silver master (pressed... not burnt) CDs; it is
understandable that these items would be offered for sale. The
collectible nature of these items ensure that they will not only retain
their value; but will increase in value over time.
3) Burnt CD-r's (as made one at a time on a
home computer) may have an elaborate disc label and slick looking
inserts or covers. What they do not have is monetary value. These CD-rs
should never
be bought or sold, as they only profit the individual
seller at the expense of the buyer. As there is no value associated
with them, the buyer can never recoup his / her expense. A trend on
eBay is to fool buyers into thinking they are buying silver discs when
they are not. Also, keep in mind that there is affordable technologies
that allow labels to be printed directly to the discs on homemade
copies. Caveat Emptor.
4) Those interested in the music only and not the collectible
packages themselves might find it enjoyable to trade burnt CD-rs.
The proper etiquette for trading is one for one. There should never be
one party that profits at the expense of the other. The exception to
this rule is when one party requests a trade, but has no item to
reciprocate. The first trader may understandably ask for blank discs,
paid postage, etc. to cover his / her expenditure.
5) All of these activities help support the artist by raising
public interest in them. The fans of bootlegs become the fans of
legitimate releases, and this translates into more sales.
6) Finally,
and most importantly... when burning, remember
that true bootleg CDs are manufactured illegally; so
there can be no copyright claim from the manufacturer. HOWEVER...
Pirate Recording
(recording a CD that the artist offers for sale through
their record label... as is to be found at Amazon.com etc.) is not only
illegal, but it is stealing from the artist that one claims to enjoy
and support. The term " Pirate
" extends to the illegal download of any online song that is
legitimately offered for sale elsewhere. bobsboots.com
takes a strong stand against pirate
recordings of officially released material, and will not tolerate any
trading member that engages in
this activity. Click to learn
more about boots v. pirates.
© 2001-2006
CD Pinkerton / bobsboots.com
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