Bootlegging Is Good For The Music Industry

*Note that when I am referring to bootleg recordings, I am referring only to material that is not officially released: live shows and studio sessions that are not available commercially*

A short history of bootlegging, off the top of my head and quite probably inaccurate: Pictured above is "Great White Wonder" by everybody's (read: my) favorite artist Bob Dylan, the record that really started the bootlegging industry back in July of 1969. It is a collection of Bob Dylan performances from before the release of his first record as well as some songs from The Basement Tapes sessions with The Band. Until the CD came around, bootlegging had to be a rather involved process, a second whole industry, because it required equipment to produce and package actual vinyl records. Even when CDs first came out, the process was intensive because CD burners were not readily available. So for a long time, bootlegging had to be this whole other recording industry. With the spread of CD reproduction technology, digital recording equipment, digital music files, and high speed internet, bootlegs became much easier to record, distribute, and obtain. This also made it more noticeable, and recently, along with the push to stop file sharing, there has been an increase in efforts by some to combat bootlegging as well.

Now I can sort of see how an artist might at first without thinking at all be scared by bootlegging. They might think it will prevent people from buying their legit recordings, or more likely from paying to see their shows. This, however, is a very stupid point of view. Most people in the music industry will tell you that, the way things are going, even legitimate music releases are becoming more and more a promotional tool, not an income generator. The music drives people to see shows, buy merchandise, etc. So, if this is true, then bootlegs almost certainly will do the same thing: promote an artist. The type of people who will go to the trouble of obtaining a bootleg are the type of people who already own all of an artist's material and see them at shows. And even if they're not, will stopping them from getting bootlegs make them more likely to spend money on an artist or will it make them pissed off to such a degree that they won't buy anything an artist puts out because they view them as greedy and heavy-handed. If anything, bootlegs will drive people to go to more live shows, because they will know what to expect. There is something about a live show that can't be captured on tape. If a person has reason to think the show will be good (i.e. they've already heard sort of what it will be like), they'll be more willing to shell out money to see an artist, so they can experience that first hand. The only reason people wouldn't go to shows is because they're way too fucking expensive, and so is merchandise. Maybe if they allowed people to bootleg shows, more people would come to the show, especially if they charged less, and more people would buy more merchandise, especially if they charged less. Anyway, trying to prevent people from hearing what they want is just going to alienate them and make them not like you. Bootlegging is a powerful promotional tool and a vital part of a dying rock and roll industry. One alternate view is to charge people for bootlegs by selling them on a website or iTunes, but that's almost the same as preventing them from getting what they want, because a lot of fans want to hear anything they can. If they have to pay for all of it, they won't be able to afford what they want, and thus they will be restricted and feel alienated. I don't think legitimate releases should be free because there's a lot that goes in to making a release, and the only way to try to recoup all that money is by selling that release. There's also a lot that goes in to putting on a concert, but that money is recouped by selling tickets and merchandise, so it's not hurt by the fact that someone may be recording it to distribute it later. If you're producing something that's worth enough to people, they'll buy it. So, to all artists, embrace bootlegging, it's here to help promote your work and vastly increase the mythology surrounding you (concerning mythology of artists, I wrote a thesis about it, it's very real and things like bootlegs are very important to it). If you want to hear bootlegs, you should be able to. You're not doing it because you're trying to hurt the artist: you're doing it because you like the artist and are thus supporting them. But anyway, go to shows and buy merchandise to support your favorite artists so they don't get curmdgeonly and try to prevent you from getting what you want.

Also, buy records.

Hugz 'n' kissiz,
Sean