Video and audio taping
Video and audio taping
Allan,
I would also like to see Ahmed Abdullah clarify his position about taping. It would be good to hear from James Jacson and Marshall Allen as well.
If the Arkestra does not want a tape to circulate because (1) its content is in some sense private (which may be how they view John's memorial service); (2) they consider it a subpar performance; or (3) they don't object on grounds 1 or 2 but they consider the technical quality to be really poor, I don't think anyone on this net would complain (I've refrained from copying the SOB's performance for reason 3). And it's obvious why they wouldn't want tapes of material to circulate if they're about to release it on CD. (Once Leo announced that it would put out the Hackney Empire concert, I'd imagine that traffic in the audience tape ground to a halt).
But a broad-purpose ban on audience taping or tape-trading strikes me as counterproductive. It can't be enforced, though most of us on this network would presumably honor such a ban if it came from the Arkestra. I would. But as Jim points out, a good deal of the Arkestra's music is unlikely to be commercially available any time soon (and a lot more was available on Saturn for a hot minute and is long since out of print). The ban would cut off fans' access to all of this music completely. How far does Ahmed Abdullah wish to go? The only way to stop taping off the radio (most notably off WKCR's Ra broadcasts) would be to forbid WKCR to play unissued Ra. Would that be a desirable measure?
Though that is not the main issue here, a ban on tape trading would also make further additions to The Earthly Recordings nearly impossible. Although Ahmed Abdullah has helped me personally with much information and with several tapes, I have had no access to any Arkestral archives, and I suspect that most concerts from 1980 onward aren't being kept in the House of Ra anyhow. Without tape trading, I would not have been able to cover most of the unissued material that is listed in The Earthly Recordings.
I hope the Arkestra will consider the following before any official pronouncements are made:
The Arkestra's big priority is getting their current lineup and repertoire recorded. They would need this in any case, but it's particularly urgent since they are not getting a dime from any releases recorded while Sunny was on the planet. Until the estate is settled, all of the money goes into escrow (and the attendant legal uncertainties are discouraging Evidence and other legitimate outfits from releasing more material). After the estate is settled, the Arkestra should get a share of the royalties, but whether they do is up to the judge; the conventions of our legal system don't favor giving them a cut of the estate even though that is obviously what Sunny would have wanted.
I don't see how the small traffic in traded tapes and videos is hurting the Arkestra's prospects of a recording deal. Nor do I see how would cut into sales if they get such a deal. There is, in fact, no widely available tape or video of the current Arkestra under Marshall Allen (the SOB's tape isn't circulating, the Arkestra controls the official tapes from Kimball's East, and Abdullah is saying, in effect, that the video from St. Peter's isn't going to circulate). In any case, the same people who trade for Ra tapes are the ones who shell out their $$$ for Ra CDs.
I further suspect that the impact of traded tapes on demand for older Ra releases is marginal. Do you know anybody who says, "I don't need to buy that Nubians of Plutonia--I've got the Brixton Fridge concert of November 1985"? Or "I don't want to hear the 1995 Arkestra--I've got the 1991 Arkestra playing 'Deep Purple' out of tune"? Recall, in any case, that the Arkestra is currently getting no revenue from the Nubians of Plutonia--or any release that Ra plays on.
I hope the Arkestra will consider taping under the following conditions:
(1) The Arkestra can request that specific items not be circulated and we will not copy those.
(2) Each person who copies an audio or video tape should pay a fee to the Arkestra. This would be strictly on the honor system, but I think we can prevail on the real Ra fans to cooperate with it. In the past I've suggested a 50 cent per audiocassette "royalty" and have sent the appropriate sum to the Arkestra. But the Arkestra may prefer a different amount.
(3) Tapes should not be sold (or commercially released without authorization). The Arkestra has actually not been bootlegged much--two cassettes from Berlin 1982, a cassette from Montreux 1976 (mostly superseded by the Saturn/Inner City releases), and the Disney cassette from Ulrichsberg 1989 (now replaced by the legal Leo issue). No one on this network, to my knowledge, has ever been involved in bootlegs. That's more than you can say for a number of record companies (some of which are willing to buy Ra tapes from shady sources, etc.).
(4) Material by Sunny and the Arkestra that is in print now should not be taped. The appropriate thing to do is go to the store and buy the CD.
I hope we can work something out here. I hope the Arkestra will see that tape trading within reasonable limits builds fan support for the Arkestra--and sales for Arkestra releases.
rlc