Oh oh – I’m may have to retract – YouTube Muting Videos
A couple days ago, I typed a post about finding some cool bootlegs videos out thee on YouTube and how great to have some of this once rare material out in the public. The example I showed was a Beatles bootleg which showed some video material from the famous “Get Back” sessions. To fans and artists alike these types of recordings give insight of not only some tunes not available through official published recordings, but also give a glimpse into the creative process that some of the very talented used to derive their work. For me, listening and sometimes watching the creative process of some bands, in this case the Beatles, is a terrific time capsule. Imagine watching a video of Michelangelo and his process for painting the Sistine Chapel. Now imagine a recording of the life and times of four talented musicians in the throws of creating some of the most famous works of the 20th Century. Listening and watching these types of recordings can give a wonderful insight into the creation of works that have been known as genius.
There was an Internet resource..?
Well… get out there and watch those videos right quick. It seems that, although I’m not sure it was announced in any public fashion, YouTube has begun recently to mute videos of music that has not been authorized through copyright. Here is an example of such a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q_z9cnv09o&NR=1
What does this mean for bootlegs?
So, I must quell my excitement, which is all too bad. The great thing about bootlegs are that much of the recorded music that encompasses them was never planned to be released officially. Some of it will never be officially released. So this treasure trove of information for those music historians and artists that is appearing though YouTube will once again only be found through less efficient techniques, much limited again to those in the know.
Why is this a drag?
Some artists like the Beatles and Bob Dylan have tried to cash in on the bootleg market by releasing some of their unpublished material, or concert footage, which is of course their right. Official release of such material usually lends itself to better recordings for the public, which is of course preferred by those who would want to listen. The problem is, like In the case of the Beatles, there is so much material out there that would not be any where near profitable to sell. For example, the “Get Back” sessions include more than thirty days worth of recorded material. Thirty days that probably only the most die hard fan would want to listen through. I personally have a good amount of these recordings and I have yet to listen to the full play back of all the music. Having an official release of so many hours of creative battling would be awesome, but would anyone pay for such a library? Would enough people pay enough for the recordings to make the recording artist never mind the recording companies any profits? I fear the answer is no. This has always been the tug of war around rare recording aficionados and the record industry, a sad one at that.
What can we do?
Alas, all that can be done is what others have done ever since there has been recorded media… get out there, find what you can, make copies and share them. That is what fans have done over the decades. No profit motive, just for the love of it. Some might call it stealing, and some might call it the preservation of history; the recordings of the genus of creativity in action, and a gift to humanity.
Give the gift of music…
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