“On the Bound” - Fiona Apple, Chris Thile, Jon Brion, and Sebastian Steinberg at Largo at the Coronet
While I may not run a music law blog like (at least) one of you, I do have some fairly firmly held views about the ethics involved in the intersection of internet+music. I imagine my thoughts on the matter are somewhat anachronistic, as illustrated that I still by 90+% of my music in full-album-on-physical-media format, generally spend >$1,000 per year on music (not counting an additional several hundred dollars for concerts), and eschew what is generally considered illegal downloading except for certain “try before you by” instances that—in my definition, at least—constitute fair use.
So, I was a bit conflicted to find this video and several others on this same channel from a concert I attended at Largo at the Coronet a few months back. Largo is probably my favorite music venue in the world at this point, and has a constant and well publicized “no cameras, no recording” policy. My level of respect for the operators of the venue and for the artists I’ve seen there is extremely high, so I’ve always followed that rule strictly.
But then, I find these videos online. This one, and many other great videos on that YouTube channel, are from a show I paid pretty good amount of money to attend, and which I thoroughly enjoyed. I would happily pay money to see that same show again (indeed, I did pay to see the same artist at the same venue only a month later) or to buy an officially sanctioned recording of the show, were it available. So, is it unethical for me to enjoy these recordings?
I asked my friend Mike—a music industry professional and one of my main go-to sources for all things music—about this via Twitter. His response: ”Go for it. It’s 2011. Having a no-camera policy is the same as saying PLEASE PHOTOGRAPH MY SHOW [emphasis in the original]. … But that’s just my opinion. It’s one of those ‘price of fame’ things, I suppose.”
