the bootleggers

Bootlegs open up a private world to the listener where one might get the chance to hear things the artist would rather you didn't...snippets of conversation, bad versions of well known tracks, early versions and so on - so as fans it's very difficult to find anybody who doesn't or wouldn't want to hear something different, something out of the norm, something you shouldn't have - a back stage pass with access all areas basically. This must be a nightmare for the artist..as a musician myself, when you see something up on you tube or hear a recording someone might play to you saying "I came across this the other day...sounds great", you tend to feel in some small way violated there is no doubt about that. I've had some small experiences of this myself due to the dreaded camcorder at a gig syndrome and it's not particularly nice. However, as a Beatle fan, "it's historic innit?", so therefore somehow ok?...it isn't really, but you can't help but want to hear it anyway right? Better still, if you can get it on a silver disc inside some well designed packing - EVEN better! This is where the artist and fan collide. The artist would rather keep their "dirty washing" in the wash house thank you very much, whilst the fan is desperate to hear that extra 6 seconds and studio chat after the fade! It's fairly bizzare when you think about. There's the artist putting blood, sweat and ears into making the track sound the very best it can possibly be, and there's the fan wanting to hear the first take break down after the verse was played badly! Again, is it different for the Beatles? The recent (and I may say brilliant) series by the shadowy figures of Purple Chick are a great example of 21 first century (er..schizoid) fans, the modern bootleggers and the band. Those of you in the know will instantly understand this. For those unaware, here's an example of they might do with a release. Let's use the album Please Please Me as an example. Officially, The Beatles (in the modern era of CD etc) put out the mono version of the same album released on record in 1963. This is great, but simply not enough for the discerning mega fan...Purple Chick fill the substantial gap like this - First of all they whett your appetite by creating an expanded version of the album and call it Please Please Me - Deluxe editon. As a fan you're hooked right there, wondering what might be on that album and what makes it "deluxe".
First thing you notice is that there is specialist art work with expanded and extensive information about the sessions concerned. Next up there are TWO discs containing the best possible versions in the best available quality of both mono and stereo versions. That in itself is perhaps good enough, but the good folks at Purple Chick then reckon you'll maybe want to hear other tracks from the timeframe, the b sides, the unreleased? In this example, How Do You Do It? makes an appearence, different mixes of the tracks with dates times, room numbers, trousers, outlines...nothing left to the imagination!. So what could be on disc two then? Well, here are all the available takes of each song in the best quality (for example, There's A Place contains all the takes from 1 to 10) It's astonshing to me coming from the time when the vinyl was it and was all she wrote!
Overall it's a package the fan CAN'T ignore...it's the whole damned thing in one place in a nice box! The question is, why don't the Applelites understand that people want it and that ilk of presentation? OK, so the market probably doesn't cross over to the general public and mass sales on the scale of the "1" album, but surely it's better that they control these types of release and taking up the revenues as opposed to leaving it in the hands of the bootleggers who basically do what THEY want in terms of the presentation and content..and worse they give it away under the "made by the fans for the fans" banner...it's the word on the street, it's a groundswell of opinion, it's a FACT...there is a market for the material and there are two routes for the artist....First, go for the bootleggers down the legal route? No, it's expensive and messy and you don't look good for it or cut the supply off by releasing it your self? Makes the most sense. In other words, give the fans (and history) what they want and take the money (honey!)
All of this is easy for me to say as I don't control a multi million pound industry!
The fact is though, you're never going to stop people putting up their phone films of your concerts on you tube, or stop people having the nerve to be interested in the whole studio tape are you? No is the answer. If you can't beat(le) them? then you may as well join them.