I hope you don't think I'm getting too big for my boots, but I was thinking of ways to add to the forums and basically I came up with the following 2 ideas:
The upload thread:
Obviously not my original idea, but new to GN would be a thread where you can make requests for completely legal copies of music such as live performances (unreleased as CD or DVD). This will particularly include covers and improv which is a good bonus.
The other side to the upload thread is that you can just upload your own pieces or other board members pieces of work should they be worthy of extra recognition or what have you.
*PS I forgot what the second idea was whilst typing, but I'm sure it'll come to me :D
"Today is what it means to be young..."
(Radiohead, RHCP, Jimi Hendrix - the big 3)
One of the problems of live performances is that they may be covered by copyright. Not having been a picture-selling photog for a long time, the laws may have changed and may be totally different in other countries. So here's the first problem - what laws apply and what don't.
If the performance was on public property, then, there should be no problem - except, that , in many countries, you are not allowed to publish images of specific people, without their written consent. A general picture of the local park is fine, even with people in it. A close up of a good looking girl is not - you need her permission.
If the concert is at a paying venue, you need the permission of the organiser to take any pictures at all. Here, in Germany, tickets are usually marked "No Cameras or Video equipment" - you get searched at the gate and photographic gear is confiscated (you pick it up after the show). You'll also see "still pictures allowed for private use only".
On the second point, this is a privately owned site, financed mostly by the owner, Paul Hackett, himself. There is an income from advertising, but that goes into providing the best services that he can afford. Adding MP3s would cause his bandwidth requirements to sky-rocket, with the financial penalties involved. I don't think that it is feasable, in that form, for that reason. We do, however, have the opportunity for people to list their recordings, that they have uploaded to an external provider.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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