Thursday, April 19, 2012

ABC radio interview & the legality of concert recording

I was interviewed on ABC Radio by Spencer Howson yesterday, which was broadcast this morning about my live recording of concerts. Spencer was put onto my website by Kate Miller-Heidke and he contacted me, wanting to know more, so I agreed to an interview.

We discuss how I came to do what I do, the artist reactions and more. You can listen to the interview here.

I've had a few questions and noticed a few comments on Twitter about the legality of what I do, so I wanted to address those here:

Firstly - what I do is STRICTLY not for profit. I make no financial gain from recording and sharing concerts. I don't hide in dark back alleys or market stalls selling copies of concerts. It's not the 70's anymore.. This is purely for personal enjoyment, increasing artist exposure and giving something back to the live music community.

Secondly - the majority of my recordings I have permission to record in some form or another. I usually contact an artist and/or management to gain permission (Examples include Kate Miller-Heidke and The Grates). If the artist has a pre-established taping policy (Examples include Ben Harper and Jack Johnson) I usually don't worry about contacting the artist as they have already made their views on taping clear. If an artist has an explicit no taping rule (Example - Meatloaf) then I won't record. In the event that I am unable to contact an artist or find their taping policy, if I record and publish the recording, I work on a good faith basis. If the artist/management is unhappy with the recording being made and/or posted, I instantly remove it from the blog, as I have done in the past.

Thirdly - Although it has yet to occur, in the event a recording I make would be in direct competition with a commercial recording of a concert, I will not record/share a concert. The exception to this rule would be if the artist still permits audience recordings. An example of this would be Linkin Park. They record every concert and sell them after the show, yet they still permit fans to make their own audio recordings. Pearl Jam would be another good example of this.

Part of the reason I wanted to do the interview with Spencer was to try and remove the negative stigma around taping. Back in the 70's and 80's the recording of concerts was a very underground and illegal happening, where individuals and businesses stood to make a small fortune. With the advancements in technology, in particular the internet, recordings are now more readily available, so tapers can now share their recordings for fun and for free, instead of people taking the recordings and selling them on the black market. If you get the chance to meet anyone in the taping community, you will find we are all normal, every day people who do what we do for the love of it - not for personal gain. We as a taping community frown upon those who do this for a profit, so if you see audience recordings for sale, ignore them and keep your wallet in your pocket.

And finally, support the artists. Go to the shows, buy the CD's, the t-shirts and more. Talk to the band and the fans online, let your friends know about them. Go out and have a great time.

Amendment:

If you wish to find out more about taping and the community I strongly recommend visiting the following websites

Live Music Archive 
Tapers Section
Authorized Live Bootlegs (Wikipedia)

As per the ACC document G022v07, as a creator of the audio material I have a moral obligation to attribute the person who performed the material. Any recordings I make are simply for personal and archival purposes, not commercial, and the original artist retains all rights. I maintain a defence of reasonableness and fair dealing due to the fact that the purpose and manner of the recordings is strictly not for profit and I have not changed the integrity of the artists performance. As previously stated though, at any time if an artist is unhappy with any recording of their performance, contact me and I'll be happy to remove the recording and issue an apology.

Monday, April 2, 2012

30.03.2012 - Kate Miller-Heidke

I've seen Kate Miller-Heidke numerous times over the past few years and each time I've been even more impressed than the last. So whenever I see Kate announce a tour, I get tickets straight away. 

I got in touch with Kate before the show and asked if I could record her set again. She was more than happy for me to do so and put me in touch with the right people to set it all up. I met up with her tour manager before the show (who even introduced me to Keir), I got to go in early and set up my stand and gear, even got to hear some tracks from Nightflight as the walk in music before the support band came on.

This time round the show consisted of Kate, Keir and Madeleine in an 'acoustic' style, rather than a full band show. I prefer Kate's shows this way anyway, in combination with the Powerhouse Theatre it helped to create a very intimate environment.

The show was a great mix of old, new and newer - featuring tracks from all over the years and the forthcoming Nightflight album. The tracks from Nightflight have a dark, deeper feel to them, which I love. The track 'Sarah' is particularly amazing.


The debut of the song Toowoomba was hilarious. It perfectly captures the city that is full of paradoxes. Other highlights for me included God's Gift To Women, The Devil Wears A Suit, Nightflight and Last Day On Earth. Kate was also full of hilarious anecdotes, if you want to learn how to correctly use the toilet, listen to this recording!

Setlist:


01 - Fire and Iron
02 - Politics In Space
03 - The Tiger Inside Will Eat The Child
04 - Caught In The Crowd
05 - Southern Cross Tattoo
06 - Can't Shake It
07 - The Devil Wears A Suit
08 - God's Gift To Women
09 - Nightflight
10 - Dreams (I Love You)
11 - In The Dark
12 - Toowoomba
13 - Shoebox
14 - Humiliation
15 - Last Day On Earth
16 - Sarah
17 - The Real Slim Shady
18 - Are You Fucking Kidding Me
19 - Words
20 - Space They Cannot Touch

This show was a total blast and I can't be thankful enough to Kate and her crew for being so accommodating with my recording.


NOTE: 01 - Fire and Iron has been removed at Kate's request


Just on another note, this is quite possibly the best recording I've done to date. It turned out fantastic, so have a listen.