I think the way copyrighted material gets shared in an unauthorized fashion, has different ramifications and results, depending on many factors.
One of them being generational. I am 50 years old. When I was a teenager, I used to record and share with my friends, concerts of our favorite punk bands. I also bought everything I could from those same bands. It would never occur to me that a bootleg could take the place of a published release. I wanted it all.
In my adult life, I have been given many dozens of CD copies of bands I have never heard of. Most got a partial listen, never to be considered again. But a few, I fell in love with, and listened to often. This would start a long term appreciation of a band, with many purchases that, if not for an illegal copy being passed on to me, would never have happened.
I am of a mindset and a generation that I suspect, better understands the concept of supporting an artist, and intellectual property. For me, and many like me, the easy access on YouTube and through digital copies of music, has been a boon to expanding my awareness and appreciation of all sorts of artists. Some of these artists end up with my dollars, and the ones that don't, would never have seen them anyway.
If I had to guess, the poor kid who was denied Derringer's autograph on the bootleg, most likely bought the bootleg because he already had all of his albums, and simply couldn't have too much Derringer.
From what I hear on the internets though, the youngsters don't see it like I do. Many of the whippersnappers think it's their birthright to never pay for music. This is a shame.
Maybe all the artists of the world should go on strike, see how long those little thieves last with NO NEW MUSIC to steal!
I guess the point I want to make is that this is nothing new. When cassettes came out, it was the end of the music business. Why would anyone buy an album when they could make their own copy for free? It happened again when recordable CD's became common, there goes the business.
I guess it's true, the old model, the big record companies, are going through some huge changes. But I suspect that the free and easy distribution of digital music, (the internet) has also enabled thousands of artists to sell and live off their art, that would have never been able to under the old way of doing business.
If you don't want to be videotaped, put up signs at the entrance. Make them sound scary, recorders will be confiscated etc. Have a roadie stand at the door and check for obvious tapers. Have a friend patrol the crowd while you are onstage. Still if someone captures your worst clam on tape, and posts it on the Tube, move on. Life is too short. If someone is going to make enough money for you to notice, from your intellectual property, then sue them.
If I were Bobby Torello watching myself on a bootleg tape, I would have demanded the $5 cover charge back!
(Message edited by jbybj on September 04, 2009)
(Message edited by jbybj on September 04, 2009)
