Formal Apology From CD Seller

Brian Curtis · Post by **Brian Curtis** » 28 Sep 2005 12:05 pm

Dear All,

I would like to formally apologize for offering the CD's from the ISGC on Ebay. I see now what a stupid and serious mistake it was to offer these for sale. I was not trying to make money off of these recordings. I only wanted to share them with others, since I have enjoyed them so much myself. I have often wondered if there was a way to get some recordings of past conventions. Now I understand why I could not find them. I guess I assumed that since there were so many recordings floating around, and that recording was allowed and encouraged, that there were no serious legal issues involved. I should have investigated this further. My sincere apologies to you, Scotty and to all of the players. Please forgive me! After attending the ISGC convention for many years, I have seen some of the great players that have recently passed on, and would love to have some of those moments on video or CD. I hope that Scotty will find a way to someday legally make these available for sale, as I agree with other members that there would be a demand for a quality recording and the proceeds could really be beneficial to the convention.

Sincerely,

Brian

“Sometimes we make the mistake of believing everything we do is perfectly correct, only to find out there are restrictions on some of our actions.”
…Thanks Fred

“Not everyone out there understands all the rules...some don't even know there are rules”
...Thanks Tony

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 28 Sep 2005 12:47 pm

I always thought it be great if Scotty would have the St.Louis show vidio taped so the thousands of us that can't attend could enjoy the show also.Just think how many great moments could be perserved forever.It seemes every year we lose two or three of the great players.I'm sure there are legal matters that i'm not aware of.Maybe the proceeds could be used to support the hall of fame,or a fund to help musicians in need for whatever reason.The best 35 dollars I ever spent was for the the Curly C.vidio that Mike and Scotty sold to help with Curly's medical expenses. I don't know if this could ever happen,but it would be great.

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 28 Sep 2005 1:17 pm

This is off-topic, I know but to chant in on what Charles Davidson just wrote:
I am Swiss born, almost 40 years ago. Visited the USA first in 1993 and the SG Convention some time later in the late 90's. I may still seem lucky because I spent quality time talking with Speedy West and had the privilege of interchanging some letters with my other heroe, Jerry Byrd. But I have never seen either play!
And I am sorry to say but I don't think it is neither just, justified or helping our cosa nostra.
Guitar players get to see their historical idols play, so do harmonica player and probably fiddle and banjo players too.

... J-D.

Walter Stettner · Post by **Walter Stettner** » 28 Sep 2005 1:19 pm

Brian,

Thanks so much for your post! It takes a whole lot of courage to step out and do this. I certainly believe your original intentions, it is a nice thought to share these recordings with those who were unable to be there.

Also, thanks Scotty, for your extensive insight on the issue.

Let's take the good point - this was a good opportunity to shed some light on the legal and commercial issues involved and to clarify these things.

It is true, unfortunately, that nobody really can get rich on these recordings, they definitely would deserve our attention and admiration!

Kind Regards, Walter

www.lloydgreentribute.com
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 28 Sep 2005 1:31 pm

Brian kinda' figured as much when I sent you the ebay email. Thanks for coming on the Forum and explaining, and secondly, welcome to the best Steel Guitar community there is. A hell of a way to get you to join though. I checked your profile and found out you just came on here today. Welcome.

phred

Ray Montee (RIP) · Post by **Ray Montee (RIP)** » 28 Sep 2005 1:34 pm

Perhaps Scotty might inquire of those who did perform and (a)ask them to sign a release so that these CD's could be released for purely not-for-profit programs;or, in the future, make that a requirement stipulating it would be done for non-profit charitable purposes. Just a tho't.

Walter Stettner · Post by **Walter Stettner** » 28 Sep 2005 1:38 pm

Oops - I didn't see that you joined just today!

Come on in and have fun!

Welcome!

Kind Regards, Walter

www.lloydgreentribute.com
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 28 Sep 2005 2:07 pm

Brian, I'm sure that everybody understands where you're coming from, and nobody is angry at you.

No harm was done, so let's all move on.

ray qualls · Post by **ray qualls** » 28 Sep 2005 3:03 pm

Welcome to the forum Brian. Tomorrow is another day and you'll find lots of info on here for you to use. Ray

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Ray Qualls
President(KSGA) www.rayqualls.com

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 28 Sep 2005 4:41 pm

Hello Brian, welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy your stay here and I hope we can be a help to you and trust you will be a help to all of us. I am glad you have joined us.
Jerry

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 28 Sep 2005 4:51 pm

Now that we've got that settled, can you just send me Paul Franklin's set?

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 28 Sep 2005 5:34 pm

You mean free bootlegs?

[This message was edited by Ray Minich on 28 September 2005 at 06:35 PM.]

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 28 Sep 2005 6:29 pm

Free is the key word. It's the most beneficial thing in the world to support an artist and feed the repertoire that keeps fans' interest alive. There are a few examples in the music industry of these results. The Grateful Dead is the classic example of how free bootlegging contributes to an artists' longevity and financial success. It took big label industry "wizards" years to notice how it worked, but finally we saw other rock bands allowing it; Metallica, Pearl Jam. These were huge label artists and they became even more huge. Fans can only listen to an album so many times before they tire of an artist. Trading FREE live bootlegs feeds the culture around an artist somewhat like the way trading baseball cards does for baseball fans. It gives the fans much more music to listen to and taps them into the live experience of the music.

These days in a struggling record industry, we've seen the post-Dead and post-Phish "Jam Band" scene take off with astronomical success with regards to ticket sales. Where many artists are struggling, the "Jam Bands" with all the free bootlegging represent the most thriving aspect of the live concert industry today.

Since there is absolutely no possible way to truly police live recording, the key is to make sure the audio is free and there is absolutely zero money exchanged ever. This ethic was well established by the deadheads in the '80s. You never ever ever accept money nor pay for a recording. You trade, give, and share. You don't even charge for postage if you ship. It keeps money completely out of the picture 100%. The effect will be increased awareness and enthusiasm for an artist which actually increases album sales. The stats prove it and the record labels know it now. That's why you see live audio recording allowed all over the place now. Many concerts even have a "tapers section". Look for example at the Dave Matthews Band. A few years back he was consistently the largest grossing concert sales artist on the planet, for a few years running. Taping was always free and easy at his shows.

Steel fans love steel music and can't get enough. And allowing the music to be taped and shared, keeps everyone happy and coming back for more. I bet a lot of steel albums have sold because somebody got turned on to a steeler they didn't know about by listening to a recording of a show. For example; I know for a fact that happend for Dickey Overby last year in St. Louis. Since his performances at the ISGC 04 lots of people have purchased albums with Dickey on them. The Steel Radio broadcast and the tapes (CD's) passed around fed the culture for the benefit of all.

Brad Sarno

Brian Curtis · Post by **Brian Curtis** » 28 Sep 2005 8:14 pm

Thanks Guys for your warm welcome and understanding.

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 28 Sep 2005 9:20 pm

Brian, the guys in the oil patch in northern Canada have a much used saying when someone has an innocent screw up. It goes something like this,

"Sh*t happens"

Thanks for coming forward and displaying what a man should be.

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(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)
[This message was edited by Les Anderson on 28 September 2005 at 10:22 PM.]

MUSICO · Post by **MUSICO** » 29 Sep 2005 2:26 am

A big example of free, approved bootlegging being viable is "Bela Fleck". He allows taping and distributing of all shows and sells a LOT of CDs and tours the world non-stop...well he sometimes has to stop to go and get a grammy but that´s only happened 7 times.

Fleck--the only musician to be nominated for Grammys in jazz, bluegrass, pop, country, spoken word, Christian, composition and world music categories-

Maybe there is one thing we are overlooking, though. The jam bands play their own music, they don´t have to ask permission of anyone else. But if a musician who plays standards, Beatles, Madonna or whatever started releasing their music the legal aspects would be complicated.

Jeremy Williams
Barcelona Spain

Ken Higgins · Post by **Ken Higgins** » 29 Sep 2005 3:47 am

We all can make a mistake Brian, thanks for stepping forward and welcome to the forum....

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 29 Sep 2005 4:21 am

And Brian, thanks for your bold and humble apology. No grudges here. Simple mistake. I do believe that you mainly wanted to share and make it available. It's not like you thought you were gonna make a ton of money on it. You apparently love the steel music like the rest of us.

Brad

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 29 Sep 2005 5:09 am

Welcome to the forum, Brian! You've made quite a dramatic entrance.

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 29 Sep 2005 8:46 am

The tape-trader scenario is endlessly fascinating to me. While mainstream country acts and fans generally don't even consider it, it's a central part of the jam band scene as several have noted here. When Blueground Undergrass was just starting, we appeared with other groups that had trading networks, and allowed and encouraged taping of our shows. The tapers and fans really like being "hip to the newest thing" and a whole lot of our promotional sucess was just word of mouth on the trading network. We would often get to the first gig in a new town to find 50-200 people waiting, just on the strength of tape trader discussions. That kind of help is immeasurable to a new touring band. Many of the Jam band scene stalwarts have built a healthy career on the trading/taping scene. We have to get creative to make touring lucrative these days!

------------------
Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 29 Sep 2005 11:58 am

Exactly! Thanks Mark.

Brad

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 29 Sep 2005 1:16 pm

Brian,

Your apology says alot and should prove to all of the involved that you're a good man. I sure hated having to call you about this. This kind of thing is never easy on any of the involved. Thanks for ending this dilemna with humility.

Paul

Bob Snelgrove · Post by **Bob Snelgrove** » 30 Sep 2005 8:41 pm

So, Brian can give away as many free copies as he wants?

bob

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 30 Sep 2005 9:39 pm

Brian, it's good of you to post this.

And what Brad and Mark v 'A. said too.