How Do You Report Someone Selling Bootlegs?- Page 3

[And Peggy]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 9:51am

BuddyStarr said: "This is white collar crime."



 

This fall on Fox!

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 10:11am

And Peggy said: "BuddyStarr said: "This is white collar crime."





This fall on Fox!"

Now THAT'S comedy!  lol

[trpguyy]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 12:15pm

BuddyStarr said: "If standins want a copy of the show they're working for I'm sure they can get a copy of the show from the production team."

They can't, I assure you.

[leefowler]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 12:51pm

I sometimes ask people, "why isn't there a film of the original production of La Traviata?". They reply, "there wasn't film equipment back then". I then ask, "why isn't there a film of the original cast of My Fair Lady?". They have no answer for that.

There are decades of theater history lost forever because it was illegal to film Broadway shows. I welcome bootlegs. They're preserving history.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 1:09pm

BuddyStarr said: "If standins want a copy of the show they're working for I'm sure they can get a copy of the show from the production team."

trpguyy said: '"They can't, I assure you".

They can't legally, but I assure you it happens with some frequency. The show is often recorded with deliberately low resolution, so it isn't worth much for entertainment value, but is useful as a learning tool. It also usually something you can't get a copy of, but you can reference it in an office, usually the stage managers', who use such recordings to train other stage mangers to call the show, as a reference piece, and yes, to help train "standins" (by which I assume you mean stand bys and understudies).

 

Updated On: 3/7/18 at 01:09 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 1:12pm

There are also rather annoying purists, who appreciate the ephemerality of the theatre as a feature, not a bug. My professor in college even lamented the cast recording industry, as it destroyed two of his favorite parts of theatre culture: the "encore" tradition of audiences demanding to hear songs again; and the sheet music folio as essential for audience appreciation instead of mostly audition prep. 

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 1:14pm

leefowler said: "I sometimes ask people, "why isn't there a film of the original production of La Traviata?". They reply, "there wasn't film equipment back then". I then ask, "why isn't there a film of the original cast of My Fair Lady?". They have no answer for that.

There are decades of theater history lost forever because it was illegal to film Broadway shows. I welcome bootlegs. They're preserving history."

That's one of the things about stage shows.  They're meant for people to see them on the stage otherwise they'd be films.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 1:28pm

ghostlight2 said: "BuddyStarr said: "If standins want a copy of the show they're working for I'm sure they can get a copy of the show from the production team."

trpguyysaid: '"They can't, I assure you".

They can't legally, but I assure you it happens with some frequency. The show is often recorded with deliberately low resolution, so it isn't worth much for entertainment value, but is useful as a learning tool. It also usually something you can't get a copy of, but you can reference it in an office, usually the stage managers', who use such recordings to train other stage mangers to call the show, as a reference piece, and yes, to help train "standins" (by which I assume you mean stand bys and understudies).

"

Right. Archival and rehearsal footage (which is getting better now, most new shows have the capability to record from the FOH HD camera, though SMs will often just set up a camcorder or iPad at FOH for the ease), is available for viewing in the stage management office. That's very different than someone working on the show "getting a copy," which is what I was referring to. "Getting" and "viewing" are very different.

Updated On: 3/7/18 at 01:28 PM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 1:36pm

"Right. Archival and rehearsal footage (which is getting better now, most new shows have the capability to record from the FOH HD camera, though SMs will often just set up a camcorder or iPad at FOH for the ease), is available for viewing in the stage management office."

It's still illegal to do that, technically, but it's been going on for decades.

"That's very different than someone working on the show "getting a copy," which is what I was referring to. "Getting" and "viewing" are very different."

Yes, I made that distinction. That said, sometimes copies are loaned out.

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 2:09pm

BuddyStarr said: "If standins want a copy of the show they're working for I'm sure they can get a copy of the show from the production team."

They can't, I assure you.

Exactly.  

When HAIRSPRAY first opened on Broadway, Marissa Jaret Winokur openly mentioned that she gave her understudy Katy Grenfell a bootleg of the show so she could learn the show privately and not just by sitting in the audience.  

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 1:25am

Sondheimite said: "nfrjikgovf said: "Several of these bootlegs contain work of friends of mine. Do I go to Equity?"

No. You let your friends handle it if they want to handle it because you don't speak for them or fight for them unless you are their lawyer that they've come to for help in this matter."

This gave me flashbacks to the Great Comet casting debacle.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 3:57am

Well, you know what snitches will get. That being said, you can still contact the seller and at least let him/her know that it is not okay to sell bootlegs. 

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 4:04am

leefowler said: "I sometimes ask people, "why isn't there a film of the original production of La Traviata?". They reply, "there wasn't film equipment back then". I then ask, "why isn't there a film of the original cast of My Fair Lady?". They have no answer for that.

There are decades of theater history lost forever because it was illegal to film Broadway shows. I welcome bootlegs. They're preserving history."

Actually, most shows are filmed and available for educational and professional needs at Theater on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT). Still, I would welcome bootlegs that preserve special moments of a production (e.g. Patti calling out people taking photos midshow, final performances...). 

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 8:23am

"Actually, most shows are filmed and available for educational and professional needs at Theater on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT). "

Not most by a long shot. If no one pays for them, the archiving doesn't happen - and when it does, it's usually towards the end of the run, with a replacement cast. Better than nothing, I suppose.

 

[astromiami]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 9:30am

I do not think there is anyone to report this to. Most infringement of intellectual property is handled as a tort rather than a criminal act. That means that the law is enforced by lawsuit rather than arrest. The damages that one could collect from bootleggers is so small that it is not worth the expense in pursuing it.

So unless someone is caught in the act of recording the performance, there is not likely to be much done.

[Demitri2]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 10:48am

I don't understand your dilemma with the sale of bootlegs. Where do you think the bootlegs you enjoy initially came from? Unless you filmed the show yourself, someone most likely purchased the bootleg at one point and then circulated copies. Who do I report you to for having a collection of unauthorized recordings?   

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 7:37pm

BuddyStar is the Javert of musical theater bootlegs.


“No - it means you get your yellow ticket of leave. You are a thief.”

“I filmed a Broadway show!”

“You robbed the producers!”

“I hid a camera under my coat. My sister’s child can’t afford the price, and we were desperate to see Bette...”

“You won’t see Bette again unless you learn the meaning of the law!”

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 7:52pm

OMG. Get a life.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 10:28pm

Demitri2 said: "I don't understand your dilemma with the sale of bootlegs. Where do you think the bootlegs you enjoy initially came from? Unless you filmed the show yourself, someone most likely purchased the bootleg at one point and then circulated copies. Who do I report you to for having a collection of unauthorized recordings? "

No one. It's not illegall to own bootlegs. 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/11/18 at 11:28am

Literally every theater professional I know watches bootlegs.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 3/11/18 at 1:05pm

Bootlegs, the treasures of history where the real magic happens. 

I have seen performances in bootlegs with a talent and quality that surpasses anything that has ever been recorded in a commercial way. 

As long as we get Hugh Jackmans and Nick Jonases in commercially released versions of the material I will forever stick to bootlegs.

I think it is a crime to mankind that the original 1989 London cast of Miss Saigon was never filmed in a proper way. Cameron Mackintosh should be reported for that.

At least the 25th anniversary dvd is a slight solace. But I still watch my Miss Saigon bootlegs regularly, because the performances on those are sung better and more truthful, natural and sincere. So I take the lesser screen quality for granted.

 

Updated On: 3/11/18 at 01:05 PM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/11/18 at 1:40pm

If it really bothers you that much and you feel that it must be reported to SOMEONE then I would say alert the writers or the star. If they are concerned they can have their legal team deal with it. I have a friend who way back in the day got a cease and desist letter from Betty Buckley's lawyers when they were circulating copies of the Carrie sound board recording that has been out there for a long time now. The friend was "selling" them for something like $5 a pop (basically covering the cost of CD-Rs and postage). Apparently her lawyers had set up a "sting" account on one of the old Yahoo Groups that existed for trading bootlegs and sent that to a number of people who were trading that recording.