"Well, when I met you at the station, you were standing with a bootleg in your hand ..." (from the Wings song "Hi Hi Hi" by Paul McCartney, 1972 as sited in G.W.Melton 1991).
Some interesting quotes as to why fans prefer bootlegged material from a 1991 article written by G.W. Melton. Titled An examination of the bootleg record industry and its impact upon popular music consumption’ in Soundscapes.info (vol 3 November 1991) Melton conducted research and examined the impact of bootlegging with specific reference to the Beatles.
This quote comes from the book by L.R.E King. L.R.E. King (1988) provides an explanation as to why some fans may like bootlegged material.
"Trying to understand the Beatles' music only through their authorized releases is like trying to understand an automobile by admiring its paint job. They are only the surface, the end product, and they say little on applying craftsmanship to basic creative genius. The final product gives great pleasure, but we have the responsibility to find out how things work and only by studying the processes of creativity can we demystify it and derive useful knowledge. Beyond that, study of their abandoned projects and failures helps keep them in perspective. We can see that they weren't godlings, but merely four human beings whose talent, skills, and chemistry, combined with hard work, and the luck of being in the right place at the right time gave them unprecedented artistic and commercial success. Today's art historians x-ray important paintings to see the rough sketches beneath. Studying the Beatles' unreleased recordings is our way of doing the same thing."
“In summary, Bootleg recordings exist because such fulfill fan needs. And, in some instances, the fan will buy the "boot" version rather than the commercial source. As Fenick (1982) concluded, as long as fans like to follow a song's progression and gain a deeper insight into the musical workings of the Beatles, the bootleggers will continue to enjoy the challenge — and profit — of competition with each other and the commercial record industry for the leisure time of fans”.
Thirty years ago researchers on bootlegging are writing about “profit and competition with the record industry for leisure time of fans”. The way music is distributed, purchased and consumed is considerably different today than it was back then and the technology available to produce, distribute and consume illegal material is also different. But I think this best applies to Lynda Elstad or @lyndahere as I have never read about her writing about the evolution of the material of Great Big Sea or Alan Doyle (To the best of my knowledge). “Fenick (1982) argued that the most obvious reason why fans want to own bootlegs when they can buy all the legitimate recordings of the Beatles is because such fans want to own material that is just unavailable in any legal form”.
@lyndahere tweeted to @alanthomasdoyle Finalising travel plans of the Gramercy’s Alan Doyle Cheering Section. Don’t worry - we’ll be discreet And discrete. 9 October 2012
@alanthomasdoyle Seattle/St John’s/Rochester chapter of AD cheering Section present & accounted for. New Hampshire reports in tomorrow. 12 October 2012.
@lyndahere leaves her unique impression on every live recording of Great Big Sea, and concerts by Alan Doyle and Sean McCann she attends. There is a unique scream and cheering I would like to allege belongs to @lyndahere. It grates on me like nails on a chalk board. Another reason I don’t particularly enjoy some live recordings. But for her she is immortalised in sound with her beloved Alan Doyle with millions of people over the world hearing her. The sixth member of Great Big Sea.
@lyndahere leaves her unique impression on every live recording of Great Big Sea, and concerts by Alan Doyle and Sean McCann she attends. There is a unique scream and cheering I would like to allege belongs to @lyndahere. It grates on me like nails on a chalk board. Another reason I don’t particularly enjoy some live recordings. But for her she is immortalised in sound with her beloved Alan Doyle with millions of people over the world hearing her. The sixth member of Great Big Sea.
References
Fenick, B. (1982), Collecting the Beatles. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc., 1982.
King, L.R.E. (1988), Do you want to know a secret? Tucson: Storyteller Inc., 1988.
