From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
Unauthorised Recordings and Cover Songs
- “If our property can be infinitely reproduced and instantaneously distributed all over the planet without cost, without our knowledge and without it even leaving our possession, how can we protect it?� This question is asked by John Perry Barlow in “The Economy of Ideas� and it refers to intellectual property issues in the digital age. One of these issues faced by musicians is the online unauthorized distribution of live recordings from concerts.
- People who record live performances and then distribute those recordings fall into one of two categories; ‘bootleggers’ or ‘tapers’ (Tanen, 1995). ‘Bootleggers’ gain profit from the live recordings they distribute but ‘tapers’ do not receive any profit. Many bands encourage ‘tapers’ as they believe that the “informal network of tapers and traders is the most powerful and cost-effective way of distributing their music to interested people� (Tanen, 1995).
- The Grateful Dead is one of these bands. They have always encouraged fans to tape their concerts and distribute those tapes. "Once we're done with our music," they have stated, "we want our fans to have it" (about.com, 2004). In 1999 Grateful Dead Productions (GDP) announced it would allow fans to distribute live Grateful Dead performances in Mp3 format via the Internet (Silberman, 1999). But in order to protect the Grateful Dead from intellectual property piracy GDP set strict and non-negotiable guidelines to prevent people from making a profit from these downloads. These guidelines are strongly enforced and GDP recently threatened legal action against a website that was offering free Grateful Dead downloads but was profiting from banner advertising (about.com, 2004).
- Thomas Jefferson once said, “He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me� (Barlow, 1994). This rings true for performers, like The Grateful Dead, who allow ‘tapers’ to distribute recordings as they do not detract from the original work in any way. This does not mean that these bands also approve of ‘bootleggers’. The Grateful Dead see ‘bootleggers’ as thieves and their spokesman man, Dennis McNally, said in a recent interview “We're not saying the Grateful Dead is the end of intellectual property. We have a savage objection to anyone profiting from our music" (Silberman, 1999).
- There is a way to stop, or at least minimise the effect of, ‘bootleggers’. Performers can provide the recording ‘bootleggers’ are selling for free. Many bands encourage the ‘tapers’ of their shows to distribute their recordings as widely and quickly as possible for free so that fans who want a copy of the tape won’t buy it off a ‘bootlegger’ (Tanen, 1995). This mode of operation is backed up by John Perry Barlow in “The Economy of Ideas� as he explains that "It may often be true that the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away."
- The taping of live performances and the distribution of those recordings, for profit or otherwise, has been done by music fans for decades. New media technologies like the Internet and Mp3 have given these music fans a new means and medium for distribution that has expanded the distribution network infinitely. They have also made the practice of ‘bootlegging’ much hard to police. The ethics of this practice is questionable but ultimately the final decision as to allowing taping lies in the hands of the intellectual property owner. It is up to them to decide whether they will allow taping as a form of publicity or disallow it to protect their original works.
References
Print Resources
- Heylin, Clinton. Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
Internet Resources
Bronwen Loden 13:42, 21 Oct 2004 (EST)
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