I've come to realize that Prince has his own sub culture of bootlegs and outtake material among diehard fans the way no other artist I've ever known of has. However, recently it's occured to me that since there are undoubtedly other artists with hundreds of unreleased songs, that Prince might not be that unique in that regard. Does anyone know what other artists' fanbases have access to and circulate unreleased material the way prince fans do?

I heard once that his only rival in that department is The Grateful Dead. I'm sure Pearl Jam would be that way too but they release all that stuff which I wish Prince would do more of. But he probably wouldn't sell as well.

jacktheimprovident said:

You'll find fans of

The Rolling Stones
Led Zep
Bruce Springsteen
Bob Dylan
The Beatles
The Beach Boys
Tom Waits
The Velvet Underground

to name but a few, all have access to unreleased material, some of it in astounding quality.

Artists like Dylan, Springsteen, The Stones, The Dead and Led Zep have more bootlegs to their name than Prince.

Prince studio outtake bootlegs also completely dried up after he left WB. They became supplanted by pirate releases of his official downloads.
[Edited 12/6/04 4:18am]

Shapeshifter said:

Bummer huh?

GangstaFam said:

that was his whole deal of becoming 'independent', now he's in total control, including us...

the dead were pro-taper so.whats funny if Prince allowed a "taper" section it could easily slow down bootlegging.because then what power do the bootleggers have? by allowing it to be taped it immediately becomes Official because its with the artists consent to be taped

jacktheimprovident said:

TheRealFiness said:

Some bands, in this case not even a very huge one but a very good one, is taking a rather progressive approach.

From Soulive's NEWS section.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
10.01.2004
SOULIVE TO RECORD FALL AND PROVIDE CDs AT VENUES

Soulive will be recording every night on the fall tour. Fans will be able to walk out of the show with a high quality recording of what they just heard. "This is something the band has wanted to try for a long time," says Jeff Krasno, Soulive's manager (and Kraz's brother). "Fortunately, Soulive is in the position to be able to try this out this fall." Fans can buy a voucher during the show. As soon as the show ends, the towers start burning and fans can redeem the voucher for the double CD which comes with full artwork. The price is $20. The CDs are a limited edition. Once they are sold out, they're gone. The CDs are being recorded by Soulive's own engineer, Wally Wenzel, so the mixes are going to be great. The band is partnering with Instant Live to make it happen. PLEASE NOTE! There is no restriction on taping. Both Instant Live and Soulive encourage fans to come to the shows and tape providing the venue allows this.

If you don't pick up the show at the venue, you will be able to order the CD through both the Soulive website and through the Newbury Comics website. At the end of the tour, Soulive will also be assembling a limited edition autographed box set featuring the best nights of the tour.
http://www.soulive.com/mx/site.html
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Wouldn't you prefer to pay for a well recorded CD as opposed to a free bootleg of questionable quality?

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

I'd say The Clash and the Chili Peppers are some of the most bootlegged artists I've seen.

Tori Amos has a shitload, although most of it is live.

Shapeshifter said:

minneapolisgenius said:

Yep,I don't want to brag or anything but I got me a looooot of Bruce boots!!

Neil Young has a HUGE following of bootleg collectors.

There's a Pearl Jam fansite called Five Horizons where they actually put down people who aren't "true fans" because they only have the studio albums, or only a few official releases. The goal for those people is to have a record of every possible PJ performances. I have four of the official live albums and let me tell you, that's enough for anyone.

The Pumpkins have a great community, spfc.org, and they have strict rules about trading, so you can usually trust the quality of the boot. The quality of the band is something else, though. Jane's Addiciton has a thriving fan base with psycho DVD makers and a lot of bootleg selling. I hate that; it should be traded or given away.

minneapolisgenius said:

Live performances, yes, but who has the most studio outtakes? So the Dead have performed every song 500 times, I'd get more excited over five new, unreleased Prince songs.

Fleetwood Mac and it's various members have alot , most of which can be found on the internet.

The Nirvana bootleg "Outcesticide" has been circulating by fans long before
"With The Lights Out" was ever thought of.
[Edited 12/9/04 15:16pm]