Lyndahere...The truth please (revised).

As the saying goes it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. The same goes for being the fan of a musician or music group. It is better to have been a fan and to experience disappointment than never to have been a fan at all. So I am going to ask what is the relationship between Lynda Elstad or @lyndahere, Great Big Sea and Alan Doyle? After the events of the last couple of weeks I am not really sure exactly what the relationship between them all is?

It is typical of @lyndahere to undermine an important event in the professional lives of Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea. Yesterday was the launch of Great Big Sea XX. So I am not surprised when @lyndahere tweeted on Twitter she had gained access to a Great Big Sea performance at an event associated with CBC music and Great Big Sea and made videos. I find it interesting an organisation like CBC Music Canada who makes official videos would allow a member of the public to create bootlegged material at concerts associated with them. Something about having exclusive rights comes to mind. Anyone who signs a contract with Great Big Sea or Alan Doyle to make a video with an audience will know that it will be bootlegged prior to or after being screened.  

It is also unusual for Great Big Sea or Alan Doyle not to publicise an appearance, competition or the event on their Twitter account (Bob Hallett retweeted a Warner Music Canada tweet). I had visited CBC Music and their streaming of the Great Big Sea XX album everyday for the last week and a half and never saw a contest advertised. When asked how she obtained tickets to the event she said through a competition and then couldn’t remember how she got the tickets. 

@lyndahere wrote on her Twitter site...

@lyndahere MT @CBC_Music ‘What am I doing here?” Watch @BlueRodeo and @Great_Big_Sea 30 October 2012

@rydunn Were you there?I didn’t even hear about this show. 30 October 2012

@lyndhere Yes I don’t think there were any public tickets for sale it was all a contest winners & comps. See @CBC_Music for show video links. 30 October 2012

@rydunn Ah really eh! How did you score ticket? 30 October 2012

@lyndahere The same way most who suck at contests: Know someone who knows someone(It was news/contest on BR.com too) 30 October 2012

@rydunn hah yes I figured oh well I guess I’ll wait till Sunday to see them. 30 October 2012

@lyndahere And I’ve got a few videos of my own I’ll put up after CBC put up theirs. (And when I get a decent internet connection). 30 October 2012

@rydunn Um, make that Bluerodeo.com. Apparently, BR.com is something else Oops. 30 October 2012

After checking the Twitter page of Blue Rodeo there was no mention of a contest advertised. I find it interesting that a band would not advertise a competition for it's 25th anniversary show in Toronto. @lyndahere states she got tickets to this event through someone she knows who knew someone. Then all the seats available were not through a competition. I gather there are regulations covering competitions in Canada in making them fair and honest.

When a competition for the Live at Revival filming of Alan Doyle’s album was held on Twitter @lyndahere of course scored tickets. A number of fake Twitter accounts were set up to win the tickets and retweeted. @lyndahere scored one of those tickets I would like to allege through an account of a person who is allegedly a friend of hers Christina Templeton because she never won them personally. Christina had only tweeted a couple of times when she won those tickets. @lyndahere allegedly shares a house with her in St John’s, Newfoundland. 

Earlier this year @lyndahere wrote on her Twitter page she had attended corporate and private events including a birthday party and made videos and taken pictures. There is no evidence to state that any pictures taken and videos made were from those events. She has taken thousands of pictures and videos of Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea.

It is of course not the first time a fan has bragged about getting exclusive tickets to events that no other fans have implying they may have a special relationship with the musician or group in question. It is of course not the first time @lyndahere has not shared information with other Great Big Sea fans. A coincidence I don’t think so. There are just too many for someone not operating within the law and code of ethics of fan behaviour. But then she is a skilled and seasoned stalker.

PS I do not live in Canada or North America so I can’t go to any events held by Alan Doyle or Great Big Sea. I am not a Newfoundlander.

Lyndahere And Social Networking...

Lynda Elstad or @lyndahere “The Tweetstream swiftly sweeps away both faery sandcastles & reeking shite pile. This is good – the shit piles far outnumber the sandcastles” 11October 2012 after another person disapproving of her activities on social media.

@lyndahere uses a range of social media to publicise her stalking activities including a blog, Youtube, Twitter and Facebook. I have written a lot about her use of Youtube and Twitter but not of Facebook. On a recent blog post “Shines Like Diamonds” on her webpage Between the Rock and a Hardplace @lyndahere wrote “I have also been sharing them on Facebook and Twitter a few each day”. I do not read her posts very often due to their extensive nature, their personal nature and well to be honest I am not really that interested in knowing that “her arms were just too weary to hold up the cameras when it was time for them to take their turns” or if she is stuck in a hotel somewhere in America or Canada with a poor internet connection .

I don’t like reading large chunks of Alan Doyle’s blog posts cut and pasted from his site. I will read them directly from his site like most fans do. Better not to write anything than show no respect for the reader or the person whose words they are. “I will write my own words (lesser) about this Perfect Concert soon enough”. She is a bootlegger illegally filming without the permission of those involved. If the musicians wanted their event recorded they would have paid a professional or found a professional willing to volunteer.

On the same post @lyndahere wrote “those who are too impatient to wait can see each video appear (at a snails pace) on my Youtube page”. It is truly unfortunate she believes her videos (and her words and experiences) are an essential part of our lives like breathing if we are to live happy and successful lives. Most adults are disappointed yet able to cope on missing out on an experience or event in life they wanted to attend yet couldn’t make. It makes the next opportunity as @lyndahere would say “sweeter”. A successful life is one of course balance between self, family, community, work and fun.

Her social media use is full of contractions. For example, on her Between the Rock and a Hardplace blog site @lyndahere reviewed Alan Doyle’s performance at a launch of the Bluenose 2 in September. She missed the connections for her flight and as result did not attend the event. @lyndahere was almost dismissive of the performance in her review on her blog because she wasn’t there. As she watched the show on the Internet in a hotel room somewhere in Canada she wrote tweets on Twitter criticising Air Canada, Alan Doyle and the crowd some of which were later deleted. There was also a sense of desperation in missing out on a performance of Alan Doyle.

@lyndahere “Watching the feed. I think you need to wake them up & warm them up. How about Testify? I’ve Seen A Little. C’mon Alan” 29 September 2012

But amongst all those words from @lyndahere there will be actions that promote further investigation like how does this social media giant work with the music industry to promote music. How does @lyndahere and other fans use Facebook as distinct from Twitter and other social media to interact with celebrities and musicians. And how do celebrities and musicians use it to promote themselves. The obvious place to start is the book Accidental Billionaires and the film Social Networking. Of course I will have to set up an account under a fake name because I have been threatened and my Internet Service Providers contacted.

After this blog post was published @lyndahere wrote “Not impressed with the implications of that “Create No Expectations, Risk No Disappointment Approach Yeah & “Forgo Rewards of Love” too. 29 October 2012 Putting your ideas or creativity out for the public to critically evaluate is hard to do and one I have experience at. When my ideas and creativity are acknowledged and rewarded with high praise by my peers and others it is very rewarding indeed. When they are not then of course I am disappointed yet learn from that to make my work better. But no proper acknowledgement and no acknowledgement from respected peers is not just disappointing but devastating indeed after years of trying. The healthy thing to do is to give up, move on and do something else. Changing goals and being able to adapt is part of growing whether it is within your chosen activity or moving on to a completely different one.

To be continued…

Lyndahere, Bootlegging, Music Piracy And Education....

A small number of people contacted Lynda Elstad @lyndahere on Twitter to thank her for the bootlegged videos she made at the Russell Crowe Indoor Garden Party. It highlights the need for education programs concerning bootlegged and pirated music in America and Canada currently being shown and distributed on YouTube across a range of Internet users in particular mature aged women.

This was particularly highlighted by one person who asked permission to use her videos with acknowledgement on her project. The person concerned is a fan of Scott Grimes. She writes a fan page on Facebook and is on good terms with him. She attends concerts and Scott Grimes Tweets her regularly. She is not what I would call a professional bootlegger but a fan who has a lot of fun doing something she loves.

@lyndahere I am doing a project for someone &was wondering if I could use “Every Breath” & “Beautiful Girls” giving you credit of course. 19 October 2012

@lyndahere Of course you can H. You can use my videos any time. More IGP videos are coming too eventually. 19 October 2012

Bootlegging ie recording live music in America is illegal and @lyndahere did not have permission from the musicians to record it. 

Education sites

Www.childnet.com Childnet Brochure (Music Film and TV What you should know) provides information for parents and teachers about accessing music, film and television safely and legally online. It provides a list of sites where people can legal access music, film and television and report illegal content.

www.childnet.com Childnet International (Young people, music and the Internet) provides information for children, young people, parents and teachers about accessing music on the Internet. It provides a list of sites including www.pro-muscio.org for everything they want to know about music online and where to access music legally.

www.riaa.com The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) site has produced a brochure “Lets Play. The American Music Business” that explores many of the issues for consumers of music in America. Their site provides information on the laws, regulations and policies, research and intellectual property rights under the American Constitution.

www.pro-musico.org WIPO or the World Intellectual Property Organisation “is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property system” (www.WIPO.org 2012). WIPO has produced a document outlining copyright, public domain and copyright limitations, copyright infringements and a range of resources for interested people including teachers. A number of publications are available on topics such as copyright, patents, trademarks, and intellectual property are available to be downloaded from their site. Resources are provided to help children explore the number of people involved in creating a piece of original work and the issues involved.

Lyndahere And Snippets From Social Networking...

On the 13 October, 2012 Russell Crowe and his co-stars from Robin Hood Alan Doyle, Scott Grimes and Kevin Durand reunited for a second Indoor Garden Party in New York. Also in the cast were Samatha Barks and Irish duo Size2shoes. Lynda Elstad or @lyndahere was there as usual and her videos were the first to appear on Youtube and even made it on to a television program.

On Twitter @lyndahere wrote I finally saw it. What assholes ET are. It’s an old TOFOG song and they used the lyrics to make it look like it’s “newsworthy” Bleh 18 October 2012 as Entertainment Tonight used some of her videos for a report. Wrote the bootlegger to the music pirate. 

It seems another fan had seen seconds of one of her videos on Entertainment Tonight. @Jonellk wrote @lyndahere Just caught ET. Few secs if of your vid. They made reference that he didn’t have ring on that night. Didn’t catch what song it was though. 18 October 2012. 

If my understanding is correct then it seems the program used the video off Youtube but dubbed the sound. So they agreed that her fan videos sound was so bad they couldn’t use it in a story.

Other fans had also seen her video on Entertainment Tonight too @gregccsmith are between the rock on Youtube? If so great videos-they used a clip on Entertainment Tonight.

@lyndahere Yes, I am, thankyou and did they really? That’s pretty cool, though maybe less so the story they probably used it for. 17 October, 2012.

The story she is referring to is the breakdown of Russell Crowe’s marriage. As the news broke @lyndahere had placed three videos of songs sung by Russell on Youtube from the Indoor Garden Party and sent them to him. @lyndahere always the opportunist.

@russellcrowe first offers a few teasing TOFOG snippets then a heartfelt version Springsteen’s Highway Patrolman 15 October, 2012

@russellcrowe shares his vocal warm-up song of choice with those t the Gramercy Theatre Indoor Garden NYC 15 October, 2012

Lyndahere And Other Activities...Ticket scalping and ticket reselling.

Lynda Elstad or Lyndahere (@lyndahere) tweeted to @russellcrowe If anyone happens to need…I have a nice pair in the 7^th row that a home for face value. Friends couldn’t make it 6.54pm 13 October 2012 the day of the event.

It is difficult to determine how @lyndahere makes the money needed to supplement her lifestyle following the members of Great Big Sea and their friends around the world. This question has been asked by me and others on Twitter. She does not seem to have regular employment or a source of income. Travelling, accommodation, food and tickets cost money even if done on the cheap is expensive. There are a number of ways @lyndahere could allegedly make money to support herself, including an inheritance or payout for an accident. She may be on a pension (as she takes medication of some kind) and supplements her income through bootlegging, pirating, scalping tickets and computer work.

There is money to be made in bootlegging and pirating videos on Youtube and scalping tickets with little risk of being caught. The Indoor Garden Party in New York with Russell Crowe, Alan Doyle and friends experienced some issues with ticket resales and ticket scalpers. On September 7 the event sold out within minutes. The good news was that many loyal Crowe/Doyle Songbook 3 fans from around America and the world got tickets to the event. Unlike the first Indoor Garden Party in Newfoundland there seemed to be tickets available right up until the day of the concert with mark ups as much as $400. Russell Crowe apologised on Twitter for the tickets @russellcrowe We do realise that how the IGP tickets were handled by the venue was very uncool. We will try to make sure this doesn’t happen again 19 October 2012.

In the US reselling tickets whether or not for face value breach the conditions of sale. But whether or not this can be reinforced is questionable according Wikipedia (2012 Ticket resale) and there are always ways around the laws for enterprising individuals ready to take the risk. In America the laws on the resale of tickets and how this can be done vary from one state to the next. There are many risks for the consumer willing to purchase tickets in this way including buying fake tickets.

Ticket resale and ticket scalping in a range of countries is discussed in considerable detain by Wikipedia (2012). “Ticket resale (or ticket scalping) is the act of reselling tickets for admission to events. Tickets brokers and ticket scalpers buy up tickets and then sell them on to consumers “Scalpers would purchase tickets in bulk from the promoter hoping that the tickets would sell out causing an increase in demand for tickets and thus an increase in the ticket price, which allowed scalpers to profit on this margin” (Wikipedia 2012)

Ticket brokers operate differently from ticket scalpers in that they operate from a physical site often a store front rather than on-line or in person. Wikipedia (2012) explains “Tickets are bought from licensed sellers and are then sold for a price determined by the individual or company in possession of the tickets. Tickets sold through secondary sources may be sold for less or more than their face value depending on demand, which itself tends to vary as the event date approaches” (Wikipedia 2012).

Wikipedia (2012) examines the relationship between ticket brokers and ticket scalpers…”Ticket Brokers, allow the public to advertise, trade, sell, and buy unwanted tickets online…In some cases ticket exchanges have been used by ticket scalpers to sell tickets. Scalpers would purchase tickets in bulk from the promoter hoping that the tickets would sell out causing an increase in demand for tickets and thus an increase in the ticket price, which allowed scalpers to profit on this margin (Wikipedia 2012 Ticket exchange/brokers).

Wikipedia (2012) writes about resellers…”Resellers also argue that there is a fine line between the individuals who genuinely wish to attend a popular event (and decide to sell on their tickets later) and those that buy tickets in large quantities in order to resell their tickets for a hefty profit. The practice of reselling tickets may be defended on free market principles although some countries have outlawed the unauthorized resale of tickets (usually with exceptions where the reseller doesn't profit from the transaction)…

There are many criticisms to buying tickets in this fashion. The worst is that there were people who brought tickets with no intention of going to the event and then selling them on for a profit and people buying fake tickets.

Lyndahere, Bootlegging And Live Performances...

“If anyone could record and freely broadcast an artist’s performance then some people who would have paid for a ticket to attend the performance may prefer to watch the free broadcast”. (WIPO or the World Intellectual Property Organisation, 2012 www.wipo.org)

Although stated before in a blog post... in August of 2011 Lynda Elstad (@lyndahere) bootlegged Russell Crowe’s entire Indoor Garden Party show in St Johns Newfoundland with his co starts from the film Robin Hood Alan Doyle, Scott Grimes and Kevin Durand plus his gorgeous and talented wife Danielle Spencer and Irish duo Size2shoes.

Lyndahere put up not only one copy of each song performed in its entirety but TWO copies of nearly each song performed by all the artists and musicians. Although the concert in New York City in October 2012 was officially sold out within minutes there were issues with tickets.

It would be interesting to know what impact her bootlegging has on people attending Russell Crowe and the Indoor Garden Parties, Great Big Sea concerts and the concerts of other people associated with the band. There will of course always be the die hard fans who travel to concerts and others who know that it will be bootlegged and choose not to attend.

Smaller venues are in Lyndahere's best interest. They decrease the social distance between fans including her and the musicians. Too many fans would increase the distance between her Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea. But they do not always give new fans the opportunity to see them live, appreciate their music and even more increase sales of songs and albums.

@lyndahere tweeted to @alanthomasdoyle We have the worst seats in the house - K 22-23 - for the Best Songwriter in the country. You're going to be great. 

Lyndahere...Thank you to the readers of my blog.

Dear Readers

I would like to thank all the people who have taken the time to read my blog. I hope it has made you think about the issues that involve so many of the musicians we love and admire. My hits have gone through the roof. The aim of this blog is not to bully Lyndahere (@lyndahere) with abusive and rude comments. The aim is not to make the musicians chose sides because the side they will chose is what is best for their family and those they love. Which they should. The musicians have been dealing with these issues and this person for many years and they are still producing music and having sell out concerts in Canada and overseas.

The aim is to get Lyndahere to change her behaviour and work within the laws that protect the musicians who create the work we love and admire. That is to get permission ie a license to record and reproduce music. She snobs the laws meant to protect musicians. Research shows that regularly broadcast live music can deter ticket sales.

It is the musicians choice about how they choose to promote their music and who they tweet and retweet on Twitter and how they use social media. But I am a consumer and how I buy and view music on YouTube is my choice. I hope that my blog makes you think about the issues involved for us as consumers and for the musicians.

If you feel strongly enough about this issue report it to the appropriate authorities including US customs and the anti piracy commission in Canada. A list will be provided soon. I have provided a list of options for you to take action on the post Free Culture.

Liz Smith

Lyndahere, Music Marketing, Bootlegging And Hypocrisy...(revised)

A response to a Lyndahere @lyndahere Twitter tweet…

Today on her Twitter page @lyndahere wrote “Need to craft a persuasive argument for how actions should follow words. Thinking it might be better made w. action instead of words”. 9 October 2012.

Lyndahere ‘s actions say a lot about her. Lyndahere’s actions of tweeting official videos of musicians like Russell Crowe, Scott Grimes, Alan Doyle and Dean Brody but not bringing down her own bootlegged versions when official videos are made seem kind of hypocritical. She makes bootlegged videos without getting a licence or asking the people that she alleged to have a heap of respect for.

Indoor Garden Party St John’s Newfoundland 2011...

Russell Crowe and Alan Doyle have become my heroes in the fight against bootlegged material. In August of 2011 Lyndahere bootlegged Russell Crowe’s entire Indoor Garden Party show in St Johns with his co starts from the film Robin Hood Alan Doyle, Scott Grimes and Kevin Durand plus his gorgeous and talented wife Danielle Spencer and Irish duo Size2shoes. Lyndahere put them on YouTube and as consequence had thousands of hits. She seemed to have the monopoly of bootlegged videos as no one else who attended the event put any up. I don’t care how much money Russell Crowe makes in the movies. If he writes a song or makes a video then those involved are entitled to the proceeds of it.

Over the past six months Russell Crowe has released his own recordings from the Indoor Garden Party on his South Sydney Media YouTube site in competition with Lyndahere. Better late than never. Scott Grimes and Russell Crowe have remained firm friends since they made the film Mystery Alaska together. He has high praise for his friend’s music abilities. Russell Crowe has tweeted on two occasions that he has not been impressed by the quality of videos being offered by Lyndahere of the event. He wrote on his Twitter page “Even with shit fanvid sound,you just can't deny @scottgrimes From Here Clear To The Ocean Garden Par...: http://youtu.be/i_liG8Aa0YA  via @youtube “ 13 September 2012.

And Lyndahere was quick to respond to Russell Crowe’s criticism with the following tweets. @russellcrowe @ScottGrimes And if fanvid sound were not shit, people would simply grab the audio & not bother buying the song. Not the goal. 14 September 2012

@russellcrowe @ScottGrimes The videos are supposed to whet the appetite, not sate it. 14 September 2012.

Lyndahere wrote they were only meant to whet the appetite and if they had quality sound no one would buy the song. Whet means to stimulate. Lyndahere put up not only one copy of each song performed in its entirety but there are TWO copies of nearly each song performed by all the artists in its entirety. It certainly would not make for a pleasant experience watching someone perform through the view finder of a camera. Concert after concert after concert watching musicians perform so brilliantly according to her through a camera view finder. I wonder when she last watched a concert for music. The purpose of buying a ticket to a concert is to enjoy it and appreciate the music. The function of a ticket is that you pay for that event only not a life time of bootlegged videos. Actions and words Lyndahere.

So for what purpose was this filmed I wonder. Actions and words Lyndahere. To ‘whet the appetite’ more like flood and monopolise the market for fan videos on this event. Filming entire concerts and putting them up on YouTube is an interesting marketing strategy I find difficult to comprehend. That shit quality music videos will sell songs according to Lyndahere. I am wondering which marketing firm would promote that kind of philosophy and why if it were true is it is unique to only to music. There is no product and company in the world that would use inferior products to advertise a better product in the store. And no reasonable person would buy something based on an inferior product. If it doesn’t make sense then it isn’t true. There are now quality official videos of the Indoor Garden Party and Alan Doyle songs from his Boy on Bridge album including the song 'Testify 'and 'I Have Seen a Little' but she has yet to bring down her bootlegged videos on YouTube.

It does however make a quality product more difficult to find in amongst all the rubbish. A bit like looking for a needle in a hay stack unless you know where to look (Alan Doyle official, Great Big Sea official or South Sydney Media official YouTube sites and a range of other sites). The videos on Between the Rock occupy priority place in some Google searches and makes it difficult to find official videos. Whetting the appetite of potential song buyers should be done through official videos where viewers can buy songs directly via links to itunes or other music purchasing sites. Lyndahere provides no links to itunes where viewers can buy the goods.

'Testify'...

'Testify' is the latest song that Alan Doyle wrote with Russell Crowe. They have produced a video together filmed in Iceland. An excellent video with spectacular scenery and high quality sound and an Academy award winning actor producing and starring in it. The video has had over 17 000 hits in just a couple of weeks. Lyndahere has approximately 10 videos of the song 'Testify' that she filmed on Alan Doyle’s tour, promotion events and the Garden Party. Yet she has not brought down the bootlegged copies of the song 'Testify' of YouTube to support her claims they are there to whet the appetite of potential song buyers.

I have watched some videos by people who attend Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea events who are what not I term professional bootleggers. They are excellent. They are often little watched videos way down the list on Youtube searches with only a couple of hundred hits. They highlight the brilliance of the musicians performing at live venues with just a guitar.

'It's Friday' by Dean Brody and Great Big Sea...

'It’s Friday' by Dean Brody and Great Big Sea is another song that has been bootlegged by Lyndahere on more than one occasion. On Twitter Lyndahere wrote @alanthomasdoyle @bobhallet join @deanbrody on a downtown St. John’s rooftop to film the “Its Friday” music video. 1 Sept 2012. She put up a video way before the official one was released. She does tweet links to the official version but does not bring down her own versions that continue to remain on YouTube accumulating hits and in opposition to the official videos.

Charity events...

Another example of Lyndahere’s problem with actions and words was the benefit concert for Newfoundland musician Ron Hynes who is fighting cancer and the opening of Ronald McDonald house in Newfoundland for sick children with Great Big Sea. Lyndahere always the opportunist filmed both events and peddled them on her Twitter site showing little respect for causes they were helping. I did not watch her videos because I found them totally offensive that she would film at such events and without the permission for those who held the event and then peddle them to the artists involved. What got lost to her was that the concerts were for very sick people. Not one of the artists responded to her about the videos.