I hope that Victor Wooten (last Prince's guest at the Xenophobia Celebration) & Prince did speak about fans, their relation to the music/how music should be free etc.
In this case it would be interessant Victor Wooten explain to Prince 1 things or 2 about his vision of free-taping of his shows - see below :

From Victor Wooten's website :
"We do allow audio taping of some performances. Absolutely NO video taping is allowed. We don't set up a taper section. If the venue does not permit taping, we will comply with their wishes. Our contracts request that there should not be any reproductions of any kind. This is a standard clause that protects the promoter and the Victor Wooten Band. If you attend a show you should be prepared for the possibility that you will not be able to bring in your recorder. Sorry, we don't allow board tapes, just microphones. If you do tape, we are concerned that your taping does not interfere with other audience members in any way (this means microphones stands blocking someone's view or just causing a scene). Some venues are more compatible to the physical set up of microphones than others. The specific situation will decide the outcome."

Ceyb *

That would be the day when Prince would allow taping at his shows. He is too much of a control freak.

He would probably ask people to turn in the tapes at the end of the night so he could do over-dubs and the like.

It is too bad though because if he allowed taping I could make some real good tapes of those random Paisley shows that nobody shows up to.

I would say Victor Wooten's approach about people taping his concerts is more unusual than Prince's.

The Black Crowes allowed their fans to do the same. They even invited the audience to contact any member of their organization at the door of the venue in case of problems !! ...As far as I know, there's a HUGE community of Black Crowes trading tapes back and forth. It all looks very healthy -If you don't have anything to offer, just send some blank tapes/CDs in return. Kinda hippy, isn't it ?

I still might understans why Prince wouldn't like this idea. You know, he's a control freak, particularly at these kind of things. And, in the end, there would always be someone trying to earn some easy cash with this practice.

lickerdipper said:

There ARE some who do tape and DO NOT SELL. It's just a matter of principle.

They just record, enjoy and not even trade because the fear that the recording might be sold later or appear on a bootleg.

THe recordings are simply for there own, personal archives. Like a rare gem. It may sound greedy but, they just don't want the stuff in the wrong hands.

Unless, the fan community that records shows, really have a tight thing, reselling the reccordings might not happen. But there's a chance it will as the fan base keeps growing and growing. I dunno.

(edited for spelling and keys that have amind of there own!)
[This message was edited Mon Jun 24 10:42:09 PDT 2002 by FlyingCloudPassenger]

John Mayer (http://www.johnmayer.com) also allows fan taping of his shows...

From his site:

JOHN MAYER TAPING POLICY
Live Recording

John Mayer allows audiotaping at almost every live performance. No soundboard or power feeds are provided.

Taping is limited to audio-only, using only microphones. Wireless receivers are strictly prohibited. We sincerely appreciate all of John's fans, so we ask that you please be considerate of those around you by not obstructing anyone else's view of the performance.

All recordings must be used for personal use or trading only. Selling or commercializing any recording is illegal and will jeopardize taping privileges for everyone.

In addition to helping fans recreate the live experience, we hope tape trading will foster greater interaction within the fan community. Any method of trading that does not involve personal fan interaction defeats the spirit of this goal of the taping policy and is not authorized. ***

If you see John's music being used in what you feel may be an uncomfortable situation, we ask you to notify us by e-mail or fax. Please provide the date, time, station, program name and song used. We encourage you to email or fax us the name and locations of any retailers or distributors of bootleg CD's along with the titles and quantities in stock. With your help we can stop the proliferation of illegal recordings and preserve the privilege of John Mayer fans to record performances. We can be reached by e-mail at jm@brickwallmgmt.com or by fax at (212) 724-0849.

Thanks.

*** This is the part I most like.
[This message was edited Mon Jun 24 11:03:23 PDT 2002 by EskomoKisses]

calldapplwondery83 said:

If you don't know what you're talking about, don't speak, okay? See also: DMB, Metallica, Grateful Dead, etc. Some artists even offer soundboard leads.

lickerdipper said:

Easy solution: just release soundboard CDs (like Pearl Jam did, a group on a MAJOR LABEL, BTW), but no overdubs or edits and an affordable price.



Keyword: trying. But not succeeding. If there are several tapers at a gig, there's always an alternative source. Plus: these artists usually come down hard on people that try to sell. And: where would these guys advertise their goods: in fan groups? Then they'd immediately see a bunch of replies telling fans that they can get the same things for free elsewhere.

Result: no paranoia, fans appreciating an artist who remembers how it was when he was an unknown who just was a fan, and a friendly trading community where plenty of material is circulating. EVERYONE benefits.

BartVanHemelen said:

He didn't say no one else allowed taping, he said Wooten's approach is more unusual than Prince's. You can fire off many names that do, but most entertainers do not. And whether they do or do not, it's the artist's decision to make and there is nothing wrong with whatever decision they make.

Wolf said:

If Prince is so fanfriendly, why then doesn't he follow the exmple of others in this field? Oh wait, I remembered: no money making opportunities.

Even U2 allows taping of their shows.

Some artists are indeed trying to control taping, but it's not always their desire. Venues actually have the ultimate say and depending on how the contract is written the artist may not be able to counter the venue's wishes.

Then again, I've seen guys walk in and raise up microphone rigs, while others got chased away with their handhelds. Seems there's always a loophole somewhere.

BartVanHemelen said:

Why don't you ask Prince?