COLLECTING FOR BEGINNERS:
DYNAMICS OF A "BOOTLEG"

WHAT IS A BOOTLEG?
For our purposes a bootleg is a recording, on any format, that is not authorized by the persons owning the rights to the artist's music (For NIRVANA: David Geffen Company, The Kurt Cobain Estate, the remaining members of NIRVANA). Live recordings, and unreleased studio sessions are most commonly filed under the heading "bootlegs". Generally speaking, bootlegs have acquired a negative connotation due to the greedy and selfish individual's affinity to turn profit by selling the artist's recording. Which leads into the next question ...

WHY BOOTLEGS?
There are many reasons why people collect unreleased recordings. Most collectors are first attracted by the opportunity to hear 'new' NIRVANA songs. For example, unreleased songs (Anorexorcist, You Know You're Right), and live cover versions (My Sharona and My Best Friend's Girl) do exist - and are available through tape/CDR trading or as MP3s on the internet. Other collectors wish to obtain a recording of a show they themselves attended, as a memento of the occasion. Finally, some aficionados like or even prefer the sound of the songs played live, since they are usually played faster, sometimes with different arrangements, and feature banter from the band in between the songs.

The readers of this site have collaborated to produce a list of the best NIRVANA concerts, under a variety of criteria, which you can view here.

ARE BOOTLEGS LEGAL?
Since this guide is intended to be used by NIRVANA traders, we shall put to one side for a moment the legal issues associated with the actual process of recording. Although for bootleg laws are pretty universal, they do somewhat vary from country to country. If you live outside of the US, please consult the law applicable to your jurisdiction for more information on the legality of bootlegs in your area. You can find some of these specific points in US Code 17, Section 1101.

• It is NOT illegal to own bootlegs. The US Code does not prohibit the ownership of any live recording, even if it does infringe on the copyright-holder's rights.
  
  
• It IS illegal to sell bootlegs. This law applies equally to all private individuals. Selling bootlegs for any profit what-so-ever, be it in the form of cash currency or bananas is illegal according to US Code 17, Section 1101. It used to be legal to sell bootlegs in Italy, but since the implementation of the European Union laws, this is now a thing of the past. Bootlegs were also legal in Australia for a period of time, although that time has long since past.
  
  
• It is NOT illegal to purchase bootlegs. This is not mentioned anywhere in US Law. You can walk down to your local record store, and purchase a bootleg without having to worry about the cops breaking your door down.
  
  
• The US Government WILL seize shipments of bootlegs intended for sale in the US. This is why bootleg companies tend to keep the packages they ship small. This is also the reason the cost of bootlegs is so high in the United States.

[For further reading please consult Legality of Boots (1998), Boot Buyers Beware (1997) and Felons or Fans? (1996)]

FORMATS OF BOOTLEGS
Bootlegs can come in many forms: Vinyl, Compact Disc, Analog Cassette, DAT (Digital Audio Tape), Minidisc, CD-R (recordable CDs), VHS Video Cassette, DVD-R and mp3. The most popular of these in the NIRVANA trading community are CD-R, Analog Cassette, VHS Video Cassette, DAT, and mp3.

• CD-R: CD-Rs are CDs recorded by an individual. CD-Rs have either a green or blue bottom, while Compact Discs have a mirrored bottom (silvered). CD-Rs are digital replicas of the original so there is ABSOLUTELY NO quality lost in the copying process. These are created by individuals using CD recorders (in and out of computers). When choosing CD-Rs on which to record, the best quality ones usually have the darkest bottoms. CD-Rs do NOT experience generation loss (there is no quality lost through the process of copying).
  
  
• ANALOG CASSETTE: Analog Cassettes are simple tapes. The tapes most commonly used for trading are TYPE II tapes, since they experience the least quality loss in the copying process. Analog Cassettes DO experience generation loss.
  
  
• VHS VIDEO CASSETTE: Video cassettes are the simply the cassettes you watch on your VCR. The video cassettes most commonly used for trading purposes are Maxell HGX-Gold or Silver, as they experience the least quality loss during the copying process. Because of different VCR formats around the world there are three different types of Videos a trader must keep in mind while trading. PAL (Phase-Alternate Line; used through most of Europe), NTSC (National Television System Committee; used in the United States and most of North America), SECAM (Seldom used). VHS Video Cassettes DO experience generation loss.
  
  
• DVD-R: DVD-Rs are DVDs recorded by an individual. They have purple or blue bottoms, unlike original commercial DVDs which have mirrored (silver colored) bottoms. Low generation videos are being transferred to DVD-R and traded. The advantage of DVD-Rs over video cassettes is that there is NO generation loss when DVD-Rs are copied and DVD-Rs DO NOT degrade when repeatedly played as videos do. This will be the video format of choice in the future. Do note that some traders record MPEGs and VCDs (low quality digital video) onto DVD-Rs and trade them - this is frowned upon because of the lack of quality.
  
  
• DAT: DATs (Digital Audio Tapes), are one of the best quality (and most expensive) mediums on which to trade bootlegs. DATs can be played only on a DAT player, but experience NO generation loss and have much better sound quality than any other format.
  
  
• MP3: The MP3 (Mpeg Layer Three) is a new addition to the NIRVANA trading community that has gained immense popularity during its stay thus far. The MP3 is a condensed wave file, that can be encoded at various birates depending how big you want the file to be. Although the trading of mp3s are encouraged just as much as any other medium, it is VERY VERY poor etiquette to burn MP3's to CD-R and then proceed to trade them without first informing other traders that you are sending him/her and MP3 sourced CD-R.

THE THREE MAJOR TYPES OF NIRVANA AUDIO BOOTLEGS

1. Originals
The term "original" refers to an orignal bootleg CD,as opposed to a CD-R or cassette copy of it, hence the terminology. Originals are pressed discs that are actually released by a bootleg company. Most originals have catchy titles (ie. Roma, Play that Fuckin Guitar Man, Beautiful Demise). These originals ARE NOT authorized by NIRVANA's record company, the Kurt Cobain Estate, or any remaining member of NIRVANA. These always have artwork, mirrored bottoms, and come in cases. Not all originals are taken from master recordings (eg. "Trick or Treat" is sourced from a 2nd gen analog cassette of 10/31/91), so although the quality of originals are USUALLY higher than analog cassettes in circulation, it is not ALWAYS better. Originals can be a great investment because they can be easily traded for Cassettes, CDR-S, and Videos.

2. CD-Rs
CD-Rs have blue or green bottoms and are recorded most commonly by individuals for the ease of trading. CDRs are not produced by record companies (as originals often are), and since they are easily duplicated, are traded and sold for significantly less. Although some people may produce amateur artwork for CD-Rs, this is entirely a matter of taste (but be sure to agree on whether or not to send artwork before the trade). People trading CD-Rs should make every effort to keep track of the generation of their recordings.

3. Commercially Released CD-Rs
Commercially Released CD-Rs are a new addition to the NIRVANA bootleg trading community, and according to sources inside of the bootleg business, are the "way of the future." Commercially released CD-Rs are blue or green bottomed recordable CDs that usually come with full artwork and are released by a record company. Many small record stores attempt to sell commercially released CD-Rs for the same price as originals, even though they are worth significantly less. This is because any person with a burner can make hundreds of copies of a CDR, a fact that prices accurately reflect. For example, an original CD may sell on eBAY for 25-50$, but a CD-R of that show is never worth more than 10$.

LiveNIRVANA.com | all documents, unless otherwise noted, © 2017 LiveNIRVANA.com | Contact webmaster