Galactic Patrol Alert : Bad Alien Ebay Bandit!

[Carl Edlund Anderson]

This problem has been already solved many times by many bands.  Is there
any doubt that the most effective solution in terms of protecting a
band's investment and satisfying their audience is to A) permit, nay,
encourage fan recording and trading while simultaneously B) selling
recent and archival live recordings, perhaps as limited but easily
available CD releases, or as MP3s and FLACs purchasable and downloadable
via the Web?  This is a tried and proven strategy currently in use by a
wide variety of bands whose fans have a hunger for material that
outstrips what can be plausibly marketed through ye olde high-street shops.

Experience has shown that even if you let people record and trade
freely, many punters are more than happy to cough up a few quid for a
souvenier copy of the show they just went to.  It's more convenient for
most than running around the trading circuit or searching for
bittorrents, and they can trust they'll be getting a good quality
recording direct from the band.  They'll go download their show a few
weeks later on the web, though increasingly you can just pick up your
pre-ordered disk on the way out of the venue.  Siphoning off a
reasonably decent mix from the soundboard is a small investment of
effort in comparison.  The technology required to implement these sorts
of things is hardly rocket science anymore.  One needs only disk space,
bandwidth, and a little time.  The band wins, the fans win, and there's
not much left for genuine bootleggers.

Cheers,
Carl

--
Carl Edlund Anderson
mailto:cea at carlaz.com
http://www.carlaz.com/