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Bootlegs: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bootleg?
Bootleg is a term that is brandished about freely by a wide array of people to mean a wide array of things. Everything from the traditional boot, to pirates, to copies, to counterfeits have at one time or another been called a bootleg. Most of the lay population (and some less informed persons within the industry) use some or all of the terms above interchangeably. This page will define all of the above terms as they are used by the industry insiders, and will explore exactly what a bootleg is ... and what it is not.
Definitions
"Piracy" generally refers to the illegal duplication and distribution of sound recordings. There are four specific categories of music piracy outlined by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Pirate recordings are the unauthorized duplication of only the sound of legitimate recordings, as opposed to all the packaging, i.e. the original art, label, title, sequencing, combination of titles etc. This includes mixed tapes and compilation CDs featuring one or more artists.
Counterfeit recordings are unauthorized recordings of the prerecorded sound as well as the unauthorized duplication of original artwork, label, trademark and packaging.
Bootleg recordings (or underground recordings) are the unauthorized recordings of live concerts, or musical broadcasts on radio or television.
Online piracy is the unauthorized uploading of a copyrighted sound recording and making it available to the public, or downloading a sound recording from an Internet site, even if the recording isn't resold. Online piracy may now also include certain uses of "streaming" technologies from the Internet.
Here are the same definitions, expanded, and as understood by those in the recording industry:
COPY
Once you become the legal user of copyrighted material, the material is yours to use and enjoy within the guidelines of the copyright. The guidelines of the copyright however, are extremely restrictive. It is generally accepted, though, that the user will be allowed to make one copy or backup solely for her/his own use. There is NEVER permission to make more than one copy. There is never permission to GIVE (did you say GIVE? YES! You cannot even make a duplicate and GIVE it away for free!) sale, or share this backup copy with another. This one (and only one) piece made for individual use is what industry insiders call a copy.
PIRATE
If you choose to make more than one copy of copyrighted material you have moved to this level. You have violated the copyright, and therefore, the law. Whether you are making one or two copies to give to friends, or 50 copies to sell at the flea market , it is illegal. When you make unauthorised copies of copyrighted material for any reason whatsoever, you are in violation of the law. These illegal copies are what industry insiders refer to as pirates or pirate copies. With the advent of the recordable CD, Pirates are soon going to be the record label nemesis. In 1996 pirate music CDs were virtually unknown. Today there are millions worldwide. As they can now be made by anyone with a few hundred dollars investment, they are going to quickly overtake the counterfeit as the public enemy No.1 for the major labels.
COUNTERFEIT
This is by far the most damaging (at the time of this writing) and illegal transgression of our discourse. While most of us would have to admit to at some point, knowingly or unknowingly, producing a pirated copy ... no one has ever accidentally made a counterfeit. When you hear the term 'counterfeit money' you automatically know that we are talking about something so illegal as to warrant prison time for those who perpetrate the crime. It is no less an illegal activity to counterfeit copyrighted material such as a data or music CD or tape. As with counterfeit money, the term counterfeit refers to the exact duplication of an item. Exact down to the cover artwork, song titles printed on the cassette, etc. As you can see, these duplicates aren't made by accident. They are made to deceive the public into thinking they are buying an original product when they are not. Multiple millions upon millions of dollars have been lost due to these practices. Everybody loses except for the individual thieves who pocket all of the profits. Going backwards up the chain, first of all the consumer loses by being duped into purchasing an inferior product that many times will tear up in a short amount of time or worse yet, cause damage to their equipment. The legitimate retailer loses. Because they can't compete with the prices of the illegal merchandise, they lose the sell. Upline the jobbers, wholesalers, reps., etc. all lose the ability to make their honest living. Now we get to the record label who sometimes has millions of dollars invested in a particular project that can't recoup all of the money due to the lost sales. And finally to the artist, who not only loses monetarily on this project; but can sometimes suffer a worse fate. These illegal duplications are what the industry insiders call counterfeits.
BOOTLEG
Now we get to the crux of the discussion. Everything that you have read so far is what a bootleg is not. Now, for what a bootleg is. To get down to its legal definition ... the affixing of intellectual property of an individual to a medium for the intent to distribute said medium without owner's consent. ... OK, that's too much legalese... still, that sounds like it would be something illegal!!!!! Well, most places it is. (So is not wearing your seat belt.) well, sometimes the rules get broken. This section is not meant to romanticise the obviously illegal practice of intellectual property theft, rather to put it into perspective. First of all... exactly what is intellectual property? How does the copyright work? What part is illegal?
First of all, the copyright. Copyrights work in many ways on many different levels. The one that concerns us is the copyright of intellectual property. The intellectual property for the purpose of our discussion is a song. Once a song is completed it is automatically copyrighted (contrary to popular belief). The fact that the writer put it down to paper or tape gives him/her an immediate copyright. Most people choose to register their song with the Copyright Office. As confusing as it may sound, that registration process is not the copyright. Merely the registration of something that is already automatically copyrighted. In case there are ever legal questions, this registration will hold up in court as concrete evidence. The copyright also gives the owner the right to profit from any commercial use of the song.
With that out of the way, let's talk about bootlegging. A bootleg album, cassette, or CD is one that has been created completely from material (songs, spoken word, etc.) that is not commercially available. The material might be from an interview, radio broadcast, recording from a live concert, studio outtake tapes etc. etc. The bootlegger will take this material and affix it to a record album to be distributed in very small quantities. Sometimes as many as a thousand ... sometimes as few as a hundred or less. Past releases have sometimes been of very dismal quality. No matter. The releases are not going to be mass marketed ... they're only intended for a handful of collectors worldwide.
Yes, there are copyright laws in effect to protect the owner against loss of income. Yes, creating a bootleg album violates those laws and could amount to several hundred dollars lost revenue for the artist whom you apparently respect, right?!
