One
of the things I love to do is read fan’s social media posts who raised issues
that concern them at concerts and engage in respectful debate. Recently an Alan
Doyle fan posted on the Great Big Sea Online Kitchen Party on Facebook about
fan behaviour at concerts and using mobile phone devices and cameras to record
bootlegged videos and take photographs. The comments were directed at regular
Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea concert goer, pirate and bootlegger Lyndahere and
her latest recording of new music by Alan Doyle and The Beautiful Gypsies on
the American So Let’s Go Tour for 2016. Copyright and fan behaviour at concerts
in the fandoms I write about have been discussed on many occasions on various
social media sites.
As
I don’t have an active Facebook account or a member of the Great Big Sea
Online Kitchen Party I will respond here.
Fan
creators like Lyndahere and others, definitely know and use their copyright
knowledge when it is their own fan created material being created and distributed.
Some seem to forget or manipulated the copyright law and knowledge to justify
their actions, regardless of what the artists and musicians (or the venues)
whose music they record and distribute and take photographs want. Most fans and
that includes really educated fans seem to choose their right and need to watch
a bootlegged video and respond on a social media sites, over the rights of the
content creators to distribute their work how and when they choose. Whether
they do this through ignorance, a lack of education, their need to participate in
social media or they just don’t care, it is difficult to tell.
Despite
the many discussions that have occurred over the years about fan behaviour at
concerts and recording music and taking photographs Lyndahere and many fans continue
to remain a law and a force all of their own twisting copyright policy and laws
to suit their own needs. While I don’t have a YouTube account, I must admit it
has been a while since I looked at their policies on copyright. So this
discussion inspired me to look further into the points made in these posts. After
doing some research I am certainly in a better spot about YouTube and their
copyright policy. I am glad artists and musicians and music publishers now have
greater facilities to track the copyright of their music and a choice about how
their music is seen through YouTube’s Content ID and a range of other devices.
I
certainly don’t support Lyndahere’s argument that bootlegging and piracy should
occur in order to give people access to content from concerts they can’t go to
for any reason. Fans who do go to concerts first priority should be to the
other paying fans around them. Concerts are now where many artists and
musicians are making their money which has been increasingly difficult with streaming
from which they receive little income. Without making money and a profit many
artists and music can’t and will not survive, just as any business can’t survive
that doesn’t make a profit.
The
fan response (the name has been deleted to protect their privacy)...
“I love seeing
him in concert! I don’t love having the glare of phone screens while people
record whole songs. It is really inconsiderate to all the other concert lovers
behind the person recording. It is one thing to take a picture during a show
but recording it when it will be put onto YouTube by people hired to video tape
songs – usually better quality than a cell phone. Although it does not seem to
be enforced it is not legal to tape/record concerts due to copyright laws. I
encourage all of you to lie in the moment and enjoy the concert for yourself.”
Lyndahere’s
reply states...
“All copyright
holders can objet to their content being put on YouTube, which will honour
their objection to by taking down the video. Many copyright holders owners opt
instead to allow their content to be seen on YouTube, the majority of them
getting revenue from ads shown on the video. Since my YouTube account is not by
my choice “monetized” any ads that appear on my videos therefore benefit the
copyright holder (and YouTube too).”
“Second this
video was made with a camera held at my own eye level – you’d have to be
sitting in my lap for the glare to have bothered you.”
“Third, Alan has
no “people hired to video tape songs.”
“And finally,
there are many people who for financial, physical and/or family reasons, do not
have the ability to go to many concerts or any shows and “live in the moment”.
I encourage them, and you, to allow each person to freely choose for themselves
what they do or do not want to see.”
The
fan’s response...
"Thank you for
the clarification of Copyright Laws Lyndahere. That is different to all that I
have read. Alan has many videos of songs, several taken from state POV by band
members, which to capture the energy and excitement of the kitchen party at the
time. Please do not assume others have the luxury of concert attendance due to
health, money or location, this can be a very special concert for them, once in
a lifetime –as well as you- do not walk in their shoes. The video’s distracting
and glaring were taken at eye level of the owners, keeping in mind that seats
are on an incline, the light from the phones was not dimmed at all. This does
impact the other viewers experience and ruin their moments – I just people to
be considerate around them".
Lyndahere's reply states...
"Fair enough. And
I’d ask for the same consideration for folks here. Do feel free to ask YouTube
about their policies in regard to copyright holders".
I
agree with everything the fan has said. The social and cultural interactions of
fans at concerts and other live entertainment events have changed considerably
over the years. Mobile phones and technology has encroached into every aspect
of life. While the use of mobile phones and technology has become a way of life for young people,
for some mature people these changes have been difficult to adjust too
including myself. Despite venues developing policies many patrons deliberately
or ignorantly fail to observe them and as a consequence their use has become
a problem as patrons disrespect other’s rights to enjoy a performance without
the interruption of a mobile phone or camera lights. This fan is quite
right in that the need to use technology to record the event for after the
concert means that other fan’s moments may be spoiled. I agree with fans taking
photographs and even a video or two of their favourites for personal use.
However, bootlegging entire concerts is in bad form and totally distracting for
the patrons around them but also undermines the artists and musicians.
From
my understanding and research on YouTube and copyright, Lyndahere has
conveniently forgotten to mention that in order to load a bootleg video up onto YouTube
users are required to have permission from the copyright holders to record at
concerts and to post on YouTube. To the best of my knowledge users are required to state they own the material. I don’t
think during the time I have been writing my blog and as a fan I have ever seen a
social media post in which Lyndahere has asked Alan Doyle or Great Big Sea for
permission to record a concert or post one of her thousands of bootlegs and
pirated videos on YouTube. Their limited response to Lyndahere's thousands of social media posts and attached videos illustrate to me that only under a very small range of circumstances
do they approve of bootlegging including personal use.
Lyndahere
is correct in that copyright holders can ask for their material to be taken down. Because they don’t doesn’t mean they approve. I am sure agencies who managed
artists and musicians have enough to do without having to monitor YouTube for
breaches in copyright. Taking down bootlegged and pirated material may also
make some fans very angry and the consequences of an angry fan may not be good
for an artist or musician. Because bootlegs and piracy are loaded up onto
YouTube doesn’t mean the account holders have the musician’s and artist’s
approval. And because people get away with bootlegging and piracy doesn’t
make it legal or right.
Lyndahere
seems to promote the fact her account is not monetized. One of the interesting
things I found about YouTube is that if an account is monetized then it increases the possibility of an account becoming involved in a review for
breaches in copyrighted material. Advertising on Lyndahere’s account probably
means there has been a match with content creators submissions for
registered copyrighted music and they have chosen to monetize with advertising
rather than choose another option. Advertising that appears may also mean YouTube has put the ad on and until a claim from the copyright holders, the
advertising revenue goes to them.
Lyndahere
seems to have also forgotten the YouTube Content ID feature which allows content
owners to identify and manage their content . In an article from
YouTube Help “What is a Content ID claim?” they describe YouTube’s Content ID
function. Content ID is only available
to established music publishers and others with substantial published material.
Content owners can run scans against the Content ID database they have
submitted to YouTube to detect if there are any works that contain any
registered copyrighted music and issue users with notices. The content owners
can decide what to do which may include mute (which means they block the sound
and people can still watch the video), block (the content or restrict the
devices, apps or websites on their content can appear), monetize (running ads)
or track the viewership. If there is a Content ID claim then the video can’t be
monetized.
Lyndahere
states “Third, Alan has no “people hired
to video tape songs.” When either
Alan Doyle or Great Big Sea have taped at live venues paid out of their own
pockets, Lyndahere has nearly always bootlegged and put them on her YouTube site
in competition to official versions. That list is very extensive. It seems a
bit hypocritical to be concerned about Alan not having a person who takes
videos, when in the past she has bootlegged concerts and specials in
competition to their official live videos they have made at their own expense.
The good news on this front is that on nearly all occasions fans prefer
professionally made videos to those of bootleggers.
In
her final argue Lyndahere justifies her position for bootlegging and states “And finally, there are many people who for
financial, physical and/or family reasons, do not have the ability to go to
many concerts or any show and “live in the moment”. I encourage them, and you,
to allow each person to freely choose for themselves what they do or do not
want to see”. It is kind of unfortunate she has not given Alan Doyle
or Great Big Sea the same courtesy of when and how their music is distributed.
Lyndahere’s
attitude is fans who can’t attend concerts for whatever reason have a right to
content. I am wondering if this is her attitude then why hasn’t Lyndahere and
her friend and patron Christina Templeton provided disadvantaged people with
free tickets to concerts. One of Lyndahere’s airfares and hotel rooms for a couple of nights out of St.
John’s could provide fans with a lot of tickets to see Alan Doyle rather than
bootlegged videos. I don’t think I have read where Lyndahere has provided
someone with a free ticket and if she has only at cost. Also if Lyndahere was really concerned
about the inclusion of fans, one of the best and cheaper things to do is respond to
fan’s comments who contact her on social media and share their contributions.
None of which she does and if she does only very rarely.
