In the last few years, as I've scanned online and gone through record shops, I'm seeing more and more radio broadcast shows, that were once full-on "bootlegs" I collected, being mastered, cleaned up (to varying degrees), re-packaged, and legitimately sold.
I've noticed titles being released in Europe first (Amazon.co.uk, .de, etc.), and then slowly make their way here to the U.S. Guns N Roses, Alice in Chains, Queensryche, Soundgarden, and yes, even Dream Theater.
I know there's a distinction in the copyright laws of the U.S. and Europe, but does anyone have any detailed information about this uptick in releases?
On one hand, as a music junkie, it's awesome to have some shows I loved on silvers that I can actually purchase (I picked up Queensryche's 1984 Detroit gig -- now called Storming Detroit -- and various other gigs from the bands I mentioned above). On the other hand, it's quite obvious these are unauthorized and cheaply done. However, if they are on Amazon, and also at CD stores, the bands (I would think) could stop it if they really wanted to.
It creates a bit of a conundrum for me, because on one hand, I support the bands I like, but I am sure they are not seeing a dime from these. However, I also know they could stop it if they really chose to, and they perhaps don't because it just helps promote the band by having more titles (even if not authorized) out there. The quality of course varies, but the ones I've gotten, at least an effort was made to clean things up just a little.
So, does anyone have any further details about this issue? It seems to be happening with more frequency, and the lawyer in me knows there's absolutely a copyright discrepancy going on. But it's been years since I followed copyright that closely.