Re: Klezmer "bootlegs"?

[Brian Dichter <dbrian...>]

on 1/28/2001 3:25 PM, Klezcorner (at) aol(dot)com at Klezcorner (at) 
aol(dot)com wrote:

> Thank you Josh for taking on a very troubling issue.
> The idea that copying a recording only "promotes" the artist so that others
> are exposed to them is like going to the most expensive restaurant in town
> and telling the owner, "If you let me eat here for free whenever I want, then
> promise not to eat anywhere else".

> What convoluted logic would make anyone think that a musician should work for
> nothing while the person who does the copying (or downloading)  goes to work
> each day and expects to get paid for it??

The logic is far from convoluted. If you were to visit http://www.etree.org/
for example you would learn that this is actually a legitimate distribution
stream for certain shows, as authorized by the artists. No one is
"demanding" that artists give away anything. It's a choice and we are asking
permission. There is a fine community of serious music enthusiasts who spend
a lot of money on recording gear, computer equipment, CDs and concert
tickets who only make legal, authorized recordings. The etree site lists a
few examples of bands that allow these recordings to take place including
Phish, Medeski, Martin and Wood, String Cheese Incident, The Grateful Dead
as well as many others. Clearly, the fan base has grown tremendously for
these bands due in large part to this successful distribution stream. Fans
trade recordings of these shows, buy all the CDs they can get their hands on
and attend as many shows as possible. Therefore, it is reasonable to ask
Klezmer (or other musicians) if they might consider being a part of this
experiment.

According to your argument, people who tape live shows (that are usually
never released because of the prohibitive cost of producing, releasing and
marketing music) on their own dime with expensive gear, computers, time,
etc. deprive an artist from being compensated. You would be right if these
live tapers were actually selling the recordings. But that is not the case.
No one is benefiting at the expense of an artist except that they have more
access to live music that they love. If those shows were distributed people
would likely buy them. Most of the people who tape these shows are very
respectful of the artists and truly love the music. They can't get enough!

The tapers I'm talking about only make recordings of authorized shows.
Anyone who tapes a show that isn't authorized is making a "bootleg" copy.
Taping without permission is clearly stealing and I am not advocating that.
Neither am I advocating communism. Every individual is entitled to choose
how, when and where their art is distributed if they can afford to.

I am merely suggesting that there are innovative ways to distribute music
such as the etree site that has a very strict policy against unauthorized,
illegal, unethical, bootleg copies of any music. Additionally, the people
involved in the etree live music project adhere to rather strict, quality
guidelines in terms of taping and preparing music. These recordings are
typically formatted as Shorten files, a particular kind of compression that
maintains the integrity of the recordings, unlike mp3s, that imo, sound
crummy and flat. Shorten files are very large and require high-speed
internet connections for uploading/downloading.

> The problem does not only rest with CDs, but with music books as well. The
> irony is that I find this problem most often with the MUSICIANS. How many
> times have we seen posting where musicians are looking for the music or
> lyrics to a particular song?  These are songs that are generally available in
> currently available music books that are being kept alive by the few
> publishers who are still willing to produce Jewish music books....and you can
> bet none are getting rich from their efforts.

Other musicians have enjoyed the benefit of growing audiences by taking
advantage of this type of music distribution, the cost of which is absorbed
by the individuals who cherish these special live performances. No one is
profiting from this...it tends to be rather expensive and is usually done as
a labor of love. This is not the same as copying official released music or
books. You make a valid point about that and it would be wrong to go to a
bookstore and make a photocopy of a page in a book without paying for it.
Yes, yes, that is wrong. This is not the same thing at all.

> Is $16 or $17 too much for the consumer to pay for a little 'Yiddishkeit"??
> No one is expected to work for free, so why should the musician be expected
> to give his work away for nothing??

It's not too much and jewish music fans pay for this music. Some of us only
wish we could listen to more live performances. If I had the money I'd go to
New York every week to listen to more Klez but I can't so I buy lots of CDs
and wait until someone authorizes the taping of their performances so I can
hear more of the music I love.

Either way, it's a choice that the artists must make and we respect that
choice. 8)

brian
-- 
"Whatever we endeavor according to reason is nothing else but to understand;
and the mind, in so far as it exercises reason, judges nothing else to be to
its advantage except what conduces to understanding." --Baruch Spinoza, (Pr.
26, IV) The Ethics

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+