I don't think twice about sharing bootleg material. Live shows have been a concert tradition for decades now and I feel like they truly are about the music. Casual listeners wouldn't sit through a show from 1975, straining to hear the different nuances of "I'm So Afraid" in between audience chatter. (Guess what I did earlier tonight...) Sure, they're illegal, but there's no money to be made or lost. I share them because people have a desire to hear more from their favorite band. It made me a bigger fan than I already was and that does nothing but help the band - and in effect, whatever entity they are working for. Hell, I think taping should be encouraged at every venue for every artist.
Has anyone ever heard the band's opinion of this? I know alot of bands encourage taping at shows and spreading them around. While I know FM isn't that casual about it, I do wonder what they think. I like to think that they would be cool about it.
As for downloading officially released tracks...well, I certainly do it. Alot, actually. To me it's the equivalent of taping a song off the radio as it is being played. (I'm not the only one that used to do that, am I?
) It's just much better quality. Usually, I wouldn't buy the whole CD anyway, not for just 1 song, so they're not losing anything off of me. I used to buy singles alot, but they are virtually non-existent in record stores today. So that's the industry's own fault for not offering them.
Like Seteca, I feel different when it's my favorite artists. I bought Sheryl Crow's CD, even though the whole thing was out there, and even though I had downloaded all of Trouble in Shangri-La (before it was released), I still bought it. It's my own twisted value system, I guess. Support the band you love, you know?
Mike B.
Edited to add: Brian, I was typing my post up as you put in your message. So bootlegs aren't illegal, huh? That is pretty cool. I had no idea...