Yesterday,
two short bootlegs of Russell Crowe’s special appearance at Hugh
Jackman’s new show Broadway To Oz emerged from the fandom. Russell and Hugh
performed The Confrontation from Les Miserables. Russell then performed Folsom
Prison Blues (for the men who may have been dragged there because of their
musical theatre loving partners).
While
bootlegs of either Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman singing are not unusual or even
Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman singing a song together on stage (Hugh
Jackman was a special guest at one of Russell Crowe’s Indoor Garden Parties in
New York and they performed The Confrontation together) these bootlegs are
indeed extremely special.
The
two short bootlegs were taken by a fan in Australia for personal use. One bootleg was load
up on YouTube and retweeted by Russell Crowe after being spotted and shared by another fan. The bootleg was less than 2 minutes and in my opinion did not breach
copyright as it was only a really small portion of the performance and was Hugh
introducing Russell.
The
fan then tweeted Russell Crowe’s official Twitter account and asked permission
if she could load up a version of Folsom Prison Blues he performed and she recorded. Russell
responded and said yes to the delight of many of his fans in his Twitter village.
Russell retweeted the bootleg links and said thank you. The fan with a keen
interest in environment issues had one of her tweets retweeted by Russell.
The
fan who took the bootlegs was not a regular YouTube user and was concerned with
copyright laws and that the videos may be taken down (to her credit). Despite
reassurance from an American fan who stated “I can’t speak for Russell, but we
take vids & pics of everything and share with him. He’s unusually cool
about it” the fan still waited. It was
interesting to read the Twitter responses and difference views these two fans
have about ideas on copyright laws and bootlegging in different cultures, America and Australia.
I
disagree with the American fan and their view Russell likes fans
bootlegging and taking pictures without consideration. I don’t think Russell
Crowe or his friends like their content and hard work being recorded for anything other than personal use and distributed without
their consent.
Although it is clear they like some bootlegs, under certain
circumstances, Russell has in the past (according to reports) asked fans not to bootleg and take pictures at Indoor Garden Parties in America and Australia. Despite his requests,
fans, and often the people who call themselves the biggest fans just ignored
them.
I
was thrilled to see the fan (who lives in Australia) was concerned about
copyright, asking permission and was not influenced by what an American fan said
and did in regards to bootlegging and copyright issues.
The fan in Australia
showed respect for the artist and musician and for the copyright law and property of others and was responded too.
I think Russell responded because it must have been a breath of fresh air having
someone take bootlegs and ask to permission to distribute them and in particular a bootleg
that did not breach copyright. The bootlegs and the action was great publicity.
The
bootlegs in my opinion did not breach copyright because they were only a
portion of the songs performed.
These
types of interactions inspire fans hopefully to do the right thing about
bootlegging in the future.
This will ensure our favourite musicians and artists
continue to do their work and continue to make a profit for them, their
families and the industries in which they work. And we the fans will continue to
be entertained.
The
videos links are available on Russell Crowe’s official Twitter account.
