(idea) by volfied Sat Oct 19 2002 at 19:59:48
Many bands allow their fans to tape and trade their shows. This custom was started by the Grateful Dead and Deadheads became the first well organized tape traders. The Dead set aside a special area for tapers who would record the show to a DAT (Digital Audio Tape) using their own gear brought from home. I know little of the technical aspects of taping, and encourage someone who does to node it here. Through a variety of networks, fans would look for a copy of a show they wanted to get ahold of, and would contact another fan who had it. They would then strike a deal, most often tape for tape. For the cost of a DAT tape or two, fans could have all the Dead they wanted any time they wanted. Most audiophiles preferred DAT tapes due to their extremely high quality. The advent of Compact Discs, a medium that is more convenient than a DAT and allows better quality than cassettes, has simplified the trading process. CD-Rs have now become the most common trading medium.

Since the Grateful Dead, many bands have adopted a taping and trading policies that mirrored theirs. When the internet came around in the mid-90s, trading really took off. Message boards and other online communities allowed fans to trade shows with ease and efficiency. Nowadays, it is also possible to download entire concerts from completely legal online sources, such as SugarMegs.org, ETree.org, Nugs.net and FurthurNet (www.furthurnet.com), a P2P sharing program. These are either in MP3 format or SHN, which is a very high quality format, but only allows approximately 50% compression. Other resources like Phishhook.com allow fans to search a database of shows that can be traded with Phishhook users.

The following is a list of bands, past and present, that allow(ed) taping and trading of their shows. A more comprehensive version is stored in my Scratch Pad. Feel free to browse the list and suggest any bands that should be included in the actual node. Further, if you know of any bands that allow taping and trading that is not on either list, tell me and, if I can find a copy of their policy online, I'll include them.

The List

Sources
FurthurNet - www.furthurnet.com

Thanks to Cletus The Foetus for the ScratchPad idea

I like it! 2 C!s

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.