I always hope that fans of what ever they are into can work together with the creators and the sellers of the content they love so much to create a sustainable future for all of us.
Dear Readers
I changed the name of my blog to Fandom An Unexpected Journey to reflect the subject matter of fandoms and the direction I wish to take in the future.
I hope to make this blog more of a legitimate blog about fandom. This decision was due to the range of search terms appearing on my and the number of people visiting on my blog statistics from around the world.
Liz Smith
In the beginning...2 years ago...
This is the story of an American woman Lynda Elstad (known as @lyndahere on Twitter and Facebook) following a Canadian musician/singer Alan Doyle and the band he plays with Great Big Sea from Newfoundland. It is a story of a woman who has followed the singer/musician and the band for over 12 years writing, photographing and filming about her efforts with little regard for the privacy and rights of the singer/musician and band or the integrity of their work. The aim of this page originally was to raise awareness of music piracy, stalking or “criminal harassment” laws, copyright and privacy laws in Canada, and to raise awareness of the obsessive fan behaviour associated with Alan Doyle, Great Big Sea and other celebrities in Canada. Hopefully Canadian news and current affairs shows will also pick up this research and do stories to raise awareness of some the issues facing their artists around the world.
My first introduction to Great Big Sea was through the Australian actor Russell Crowe. I followed Russell Crowe on Twitter and he regularly talked about the Canadian band Great Big Sea and the singer/musician Alan Doyle. The movie Robin Hood introduced me to the brilliance of Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea. To be honest I fell in love with them through watching illegally recorded videos on Youtube and most probably those of @lyndahere. I saw an illegally downloaded recording of the song ‘Where I Belong’by Alan Doyle about his native Newfoundland and I was a fan. I have since bought albums, gone to concerts and met the members of the band. I also listen to other Canadian bands and a range of other music.
But for every fan like me won through illegally recorded poor quality homemade videos how many are lost and how much money do artists lose. I don’t particular enjoy videos of live recordings where women scream and talk and love the sound of their own voice more than the artists they pay to watch. They continually breakdown and the sound is poor and I am out of there. I have become fussy about what I watch with limited time and money. It is has only recently that I have begun to gravel with the moral and ethical implications and the impact that illegally recorded videos can have on creative artists including financial lose. It is not just financial lose but spending time away from their family and their children as they have to travel more. In my research I found that Canadians are the biggest computer pirates in the world. The fact that Canadians are among the biggest computer pirates in the world downloading billions of dollars of illegal material including music makes Great Big Sea’s success with traditional music more remarkable.
In the seven months since I started this blog I have read a lot articles on the Internet, books and viewed other sources. They have included information on subjects that arise for example ticket scalping, trading in bootlegged material, cyberbullying, blogging, the paparazzi and others stated in the original introduction on music piracy, copyright and stalking. I have also included some responses to posts on Twitter from @lyndahere.
I have recently started reading research articles on celebrity worship syndrome and different types of fan behaviour including trolling, fandom, groupie behaviour, bootlegging in the movies, and phone hacking. Some topics for example, how musicians communicate with fans via social media such as Facebook were started and I have to return. I have also explored a range of resources including songs, photographs and some very old yet fascinating articles from magazines like the Rolling Stone, Time and the New York Times that provide a historical context for examining fan behaviour. Recently a range of rock and roll stars have released their biographies which provide a look at fan behaviour from their point of view some of which I am currently reading.
The topics are endless as well as fascinating. While the initial blog was started to raise awareness of negative fan behaviour it has extended way beyond that. It has extended way beyond the fan behaviour of @lyndahere with her words and actions inspiring further research only for me to find that she is part of range of people who are involved in my opinion a range of behaviour not always positive towards musicians and celebrities they profess to love. I want this story on the record.
In the ten months I have written this blog the philosophy of what I wanted to write about has changed as I have explored music piracy and in particular bootlegging. I believe it is okay to video record some songs in a performance for personal use or to put them on Youtube. I have seen many fine bootlegged videos by fans on Youtube. What I disagree with is the same person travelling around filming entire concerts and putting them up on Youtube week after week without getting a license or permission from the musicians and artists concerned and with little regard for the content or quality of the video. I don't believe putting bootlegged videos in competition to concerts professionally filmed for specials and promotions presents any musician or artist in the best possible light no matter what the reasoning is. I believe in educating people about what they are watching and working towards a sustainable music future for the musicians and artists themselves and the fans. I hope this blog has achieved this in particular educating and raising awareness about music piracy. Thankyou to all the people who visit the blog.
Oh...and nothing replaces seeing a band live...in particular my favourite group of Canadian guys Great Big Sea...
It has been a year since I started this blog. I have learnt a lot about the world of music. Perhaps the best thing I have done was to travel to Newfoundland and see Great Big Sea in front of their home town. The visit gave me a greater appreciation of Newfoundland and the music tradition that comes from there. This blog has never been about Great Big Sea, their music or Newfoundland. It is my journey as a music fan through the world of music and the fans that I have come across. Many of whom have brought much pleasure and knowledge to my life as Great Big Sea and Newfoundland music has. Much of what I learn't therefore has remained private to protect those people. It has also been about raising awareness of music piracy and bootlegged live recordings mostly through using education and research. I am not against the regular concert goer who records a couple songs but the amateur professional bootlegger that videos the same music endlessly with little regard for quality or quantity or the wishes of those involved.
Update
Wow I have nearly reached 100 posts on my blog. I have really enjoyed researching and writing it. Most of all I have learnt a lot about fans and fandom. My focus recently has been on what other fans have written and those whose jobs it is to review concerts for a living. Mainly because of other commitments in my life and also they are interesting too and are part of the story. Being a fan in today's world requires us to be skilled researchers if we are to get a full and an interesting picture of what is happening with our favourite musicians and artists, the events they are involved in and to participate in the fandom. To participate fully in the fandom requires knowledge. Much of our knowledge is fed directly to us through the main methods such news services, social media and the musicians and artists themselves. Or we can go out and find the real story. So much of the real story now is shared by fans themselves. I am interested in what people write and how they present the information to the public using other methods other than bootlegged videos for example slide presentations that let the images do the talking. I am always interested in a full and inclusive story rather than a partial biased story. I will return to all the things that make fandoms wonderful and not so wonderful in the near future when time permits.
Update number 2
A lot has happened over the last couple of months for Great Big Sea and their fans. The Great Big Sea XX tour rolls on throughout Canada and the US and is slowly coming to an end. The last announced concert is in Canada on New Year’s Eve and should be a wonderful finale. Alan Doyle’s documentary Boy on Bridge premiered on CMT in Canada and band member Murray Foster made comments on Twitter about illegal downloading and the impact of YouTube on music.
Liz Smith
In the ten months I have written this blog the philosophy of what I wanted to write about has changed as I have explored music piracy and in particular bootlegging. I believe it is okay to video record some songs in a performance for personal use or to put them on Youtube. I have seen many fine bootlegged videos by fans on Youtube. What I disagree with is the same person travelling around filming entire concerts and putting them up on Youtube week after week without getting a license or permission from the musicians and artists concerned and with little regard for the content or quality of the video. I don't believe putting bootlegged videos in competition to concerts professionally filmed for specials and promotions presents any musician or artist in the best possible light no matter what the reasoning is. I believe in educating people about what they are watching and working towards a sustainable music future for the musicians and artists themselves and the fans. I hope this blog has achieved this in particular educating and raising awareness about music piracy. Thankyou to all the people who visit the blog.
Oh...and nothing replaces seeing a band live...in particular my favourite group of Canadian guys Great Big Sea...
It has been a year since I started this blog. I have learnt a lot about the world of music. Perhaps the best thing I have done was to travel to Newfoundland and see Great Big Sea in front of their home town. The visit gave me a greater appreciation of Newfoundland and the music tradition that comes from there. This blog has never been about Great Big Sea, their music or Newfoundland. It is my journey as a music fan through the world of music and the fans that I have come across. Many of whom have brought much pleasure and knowledge to my life as Great Big Sea and Newfoundland music has. Much of what I learn't therefore has remained private to protect those people. It has also been about raising awareness of music piracy and bootlegged live recordings mostly through using education and research. I am not against the regular concert goer who records a couple songs but the amateur professional bootlegger that videos the same music endlessly with little regard for quality or quantity or the wishes of those involved.
Update
Wow I have nearly reached 100 posts on my blog. I have really enjoyed researching and writing it. Most of all I have learnt a lot about fans and fandom. My focus recently has been on what other fans have written and those whose jobs it is to review concerts for a living. Mainly because of other commitments in my life and also they are interesting too and are part of the story. Being a fan in today's world requires us to be skilled researchers if we are to get a full and an interesting picture of what is happening with our favourite musicians and artists, the events they are involved in and to participate in the fandom. To participate fully in the fandom requires knowledge. Much of our knowledge is fed directly to us through the main methods such news services, social media and the musicians and artists themselves. Or we can go out and find the real story. So much of the real story now is shared by fans themselves. I am interested in what people write and how they present the information to the public using other methods other than bootlegged videos for example slide presentations that let the images do the talking. I am always interested in a full and inclusive story rather than a partial biased story. I will return to all the things that make fandoms wonderful and not so wonderful in the near future when time permits.
Update number 2
A lot has happened over the last couple of months for Great Big Sea and their fans. The Great Big Sea XX tour rolls on throughout Canada and the US and is slowly coming to an end. The last announced concert is in Canada on New Year’s Eve and should be a wonderful finale. Alan Doyle’s documentary Boy on Bridge premiered on CMT in Canada and band member Murray Foster made comments on Twitter about illegal downloading and the impact of YouTube on music.
The big announcement however, was original Great Big Sea member Sean McCann has decided not to tour with the band anymore. The announcement left many fans disappointed. Fans flooded social media sites thanking him for all the pleasure he has brought us and the music he has shared. It was obviously a very difficult decision for him to make, in particular since he has a young family not to travel anymore. As fans we will miss Sean, wish him all the best and will continue to support him in whatever decides to do.
With Sean McCann leaving Great Big Sea and the rest of the members taking an extended vacation to pursue other interests I am also thinking about the future of my blog. Any fandom culture is constantly changing with the events that affect the creators of the fandom and in our case Great Big Sea. As a member of the fandom it also impacts on my blog. Not all Great Big Sea members feel as strongly as others about such issues as bootlegging and music piracy of their music.
Musician’s and artist’s thoughts and opinions on topics like piracy and bootlegging are also constantly changing as we found out with Murray Foster's comments on illegal downloading and the role of YouTube in music on Twitter. His perspectives are different now than when he was a young musician playing in a band called Moxy Fruvous. Many fans think because a musician or artist takes one particular stance on a topic like piracy and bootlegging their opinions are not allowed to change over their career. Murray was very brave to state this considering what a hot topic piracy and bootlegging is in our fandom. In Great Big Sea all the members feel differently about this at least in public anyway.
My opinions changed for a brief period on piracy and bootlegging and gave me an opportunity to explore why people pirate. When Alan Doyle’s Boy on Bridge documentary aired in Canada on CMT, @lyndahere took the moral high ground and anti piracy stance for once saying she would not pirate it. She was rewarded by Alan Doyle on Twitter. However, her bootlegged videos have never been acknowledged and responded too by Alan Doyle, Bob Hallett and Sean McCann.
Shortly afterwards @lyndahere announced on Twitter her friend in St John’s Canada had a recorder that was always ready to record anything @lyndahere@cristinatownie DVR? Please?MT @erinsulley Tonight @OutoftheFogTV bring you an interview with @alanthomadoyle and @bobhallett circa 2010. However, @lyndahere would not be doing the dirty deed herself because she was on the road in America and Canada following Great Big Sea. Another pirated copy of an Out of the Fog TV appearance by Alan Doyle promoting his solo album Boy on Bridge in 2012 was uploaded on her Youtube site AndPassionateKisses.
Piracy and bootlegging isn’t something that appeals to me but I do enjoy watching some personal homemade videos of people’s experiences. I basically can’t be bothered with illegal downloading, the ethical and legal consequences, the poor quality of sound and the risk to my computer. Legal material is cheap for me and the money goes to the musicians and artists. It is interesting though why people pirate. I don’t want to do it even though I will not be the coolest kid on the block. My blog will continue to focus on bootlegging and piracy even though some of the members of Great Big Sea have relaxed their stance for the time being. As @lyndahere warned she is always ready to record whatever with little regard for the consequences of the actions for those involved including herself.
Liz Smith
