Marrk said:

don't think about the replies...boot converstions always go nowhere. No one wants to discuss them...or so it seems.

i feel the same way sometimes when I start a good thread that noone replies to.

Does it really affect Prince that much? - Not really. I think he thinks they do. I can't name an artist where boots have hurt sales. We're not talking the leak of his next album here. We're also talking about someone who has more music recorded than one can shake a stick at. I think he hurts himself at this point to not embrace the boots. I also think we have more than he does now. Outtakes...sure he has them (hopefully! )...but the live stuff...hmm that's tough as there is SO much out there. Personally I think that if no one even cared after all this time, HE'd be upset about it and would have released them perhaps..he DOES have an ego...and he KNOWS that this stuff is too good to keep to himself.

Are they a good thing or bad thing? Good thing I think. One thing...I can see the true genius because of them...hell the sheer volume lays homage to that! Certainly have kept me interested and a fan. Same with a few round here. He should take note of this!

do you have loads of boots or none at all? Some. Certainly with what's out there...probably very little. But compared to most fans I have a lot. I know my friends think I have a lot.

does owning bootlegs make you more or less of a fan? MORE. MUCH MORE. I would not be here if it wasn't for Boots.

Me? I love bootlegs, and have plenty. I'd willingly re-purchase official versions of them if Prince would open the vault. I don't think he's losing anything, if anything boots have helped me stay a fan all this time, so he's made more $$$'s out of me in the longrun. - Same here. I'd buy many in a heartbeat...DVD's too.

IMO if you don't own or refuse anything to do with bootlegs you've missed out on a lot, in some cases the best Prince has to offer. - Again agree. It really seperates the those that KNOW and those that sort of do. I f you really dig his music...you owe it to yourself to get a hold and hear some of these recordings. Like THE WAR, All my dreams and the 11 min version of Computer blue.

I'm 4 those bootlegs I do no have


Seriously I am conflicted... I love all the unreleased stuff I have heard, especially shows I have been to, as it allows me to relive the experience. It hs fueled my love of the man and his music tremendously.

Ethically and morally I see it as wrong however, as it is stealing no matter how you rationalize it. It's an artist's work getting into your hands without his permission. Those who say they only trade are ignoring a forest fire by and using it to cook dinner with.

There's my gemini's view...

DarkKnight1 said:

+++

You hit it...

Peace

Juize

for!

It depends on the quality of the recording on them, because theres a lot of them out there where the production (and what its also recorded on) sounds terrible.

jpav said:

Stealing??? Well I know most would buy them if given the chance. But we aren't...I think that's a point many of us can agree to. Now if Prince DID sell these and own them and we all traded them instead of buying...I think THAT would be stealing. I think most of us love him and his music so much that we "need" to have it.

I sit on the fence with the moral stuff too. But boots ARE out there for whatever reason. Should we as true fans ignore them? I don't think they can be.

I read once that a famous engineer sometimes would record a live show and pass it out as he felt that something so beautiful should be out for the world to enjoy.

Marrk said:

I'm for bootlegs. Prince neither makes or loses from the sale of bootlegs unless it would be material from an upcoming album which rarely ever happens. Still, I would still buy a CD full of stuff I already have, its my duty. As for live material, if Prince released it all, there would be nothing to bootleg, but its impossible and not cost efficient unless he does STRICTLY DOWNLOADS.

Prince hates bootlegs, he doesn't hate tape/CD trading as much from what he said in an AOL interview once.

I think they are a good thing, if you are willing to tolerate the bad sound quality half the time, why not. It's stuff we weren't meant to have or meant to listen to which give it a kinda "taboo" feeling to it. Can't cried over spilled milk right? The material is out, can't do anything about it. If you NOT listen to bootlegs, they are STILL THERE whether you like it or not. Just cause you ignore them, doesn't mean they aren't there.

But if Prince were just like the Grateful Dead and not care, it wouldn't get as much attention as it gets and he wouldn't spend so much time, money and effort trying to take them down. Can't stop the waves from crashing.

Owning bootlegs, trading them takes you on a higher level of fanatizm I think. I mean, you are way beyond the "casual listener" or the fan that buys all of his RELEASED albums, you are checking out stuff you were never meant to hear...yet or at all. Its a bit of obsession OF THE MUSIC if you think about it.

My two cents..

Oh, so for.

Marrk said:

when i have money i buy new, but when i'm broke i'm all for bootlegs.

ThataintFunky said:[quote]If there were no boots, I would have lost interest in 1991 .../quote]
Amen to that!

And if Musicology is any indication of the kinds of albums we can expect in the near future, my inclination towards boots will only grow.

Octavius said:[quote]

ThataintFunky said:

That might be a bit of a fraud post, in my opinion... If Musicology had never been released by Prince, and appeared as part of The Work, or something leaked on some website, the majority of the fanbase would have eaten it up and hailed it as lost classics.

It's all about perception; wanting what you can't/aren't supposed to have. I had that experience with Cosmos, Dreams, H20, etc, but on further review, it wasn't as much about the quality of the tracks, as about quantity and novelty.

i love hearing the unreleased songs, but it's not cool that someone besides the creator is making money off of the creations -- so i don't buy them

I never would have heard of the Black Album if it weren't for boots. So, in a sense, yeah, I'm for it. I like to hear some of his unreleased material...

jpav said:

Not necessarily. Some of those who say they only trade don't care about the fire, and are willing to admit it. I've never had a problem whatsoever admitting it.

Selling or buying them is something I never had interest in - and I have to draw it where I see fit. Being involved at all is unethical? You bet your ass it is.

Prince himself has once admitted his need to get his hands on his favorite boots too, recording artists are still fans and making a living at it doesn't make them immune. It's not a fan only thing. And I understand it.

`
[Edited 9/13/04 19:10pm]

The new york show dvd is off the fucking chainnnnn, it's hawwwwt

for 'em. I don't have any Prince ones yet, but would definitely consider it...