Was discussing this with a guy who owns a local record store,he was saying that boots are completely illegal as the bands own the rights to all live recordings made by them,i know this has probably been discussed here before but is this true? If so how could U2 say own the rights to boots where they cover songs and even snippet them? Just interested in what you guys think of this?
Something is not necessary illegal if the rights are with someone else. U2 for instance allows the recording and sharing of bootlegs, as long as you don't make any profit of it.
“We invite people to bootleg our shows. We invite people to make copies, we’ve no problems with that, but if some guy is gonna make money off the back of this, we’re gonna find out where he parks his car.”
Bono
"I have no problems with bootlegs... if people make recordings and give them to their friends, as long as people don't get ripped off."
U2 owns the rights to the songs themselves.
The rights to a recording of the live performance only applies when they are published (released) by the band/label.
The label technically has no rights to a boot because they own the copyright to the album and actual studio recordings, along with the band themselves.
This is an extremely simplified break down and yes there are a lot of little details left out....but still the basics in a nutshell....
it would be even a very easy matter .. just release every single show .. official bootlegs .. simple .. like others do since years .. PJ, Metallica for example ...
The problem with official bootlegs is that U2 are perfectionists and will even remove a crucial song from a live show DVD release (Breathe) when it's not absolutely spot on. A U2 sticker on something means an endorsement of quality. As we all know they will even remain very critical of their own performances, long after an album has been released and it's out of their control.
From their point of view the U2-brand needs to be protected by staying in control; this is actually part of the punk ethos. PJ and others take the same principle but turn it around: rather than having others benefit from releases, they do everything themselves, as well as allowing their audience control over what they buy, by making everything available.
When Edge says: I don't want people getting ripped off, he is indirectly commenting on people getting their hands on inferior, unendorsed, unapproved material.
U2 are not pro bootleg or con bootleg. I would argue they are more on the con bootleg despite decades old off the cuff statements by band members. Their management is against it despite some statements even McGuinness has made about it. That is all that really matters. U2's management will confiscate recordings and bust tapers at shows. If U2 were for taping and sharing this would not happen. Their "real" position on it is that they do not really care either way or they would not have their security and management crack down on it.
My basic understanding of it is this. A taper does own his or her recording if they made it. However, they have no rights to sell or distribute the recording. That is where there could be big problems. Uploading on a torrent or MP3 site is sort of a gray area as it technically is distribution. However, if U2's management did not want this to happen they could easily crack down on it. They seem to be more focused on illegal downloads of official material versus bootlegs. Which is why it is odd that they still crackdown on tapers at shows. They are sort of talking out of both sides of their mouth on this topic.
They probably need to be seen cracking down on it at shows considering how much the contract with live nation is worth but i very much doubt they care personally.I read somewhere once about Bono being so happy about fans trading shows as it showed to him how much the fans appreciate U2 's music.
It has always been my view that the only people who would own bootlegs by a band are those who have every official release going,i've never had a problem with buying silvers in the past,for me its a nice collectors item-one that i cherish,and as a fan i know what i'm getting.With the advent of sites like this,i imagine very few people buy them now anyway.
Some of you may like to track down a copy of clinton heylin's definitive book on bootlegging. 'Bootleg! The rise and fall of the secret recording industry'.
