Law Commons^™

Strange Fixation: Bootleg Sound Recordings Enjoy The Benefits Of Improving Technology, David Schwartz

Federal Communications Law Journal

Entrepreneurs have manufactured unauthorized sound recordings since the'turn of the century. At first, most of these recordings were counterfeits and copies of existing recordings. Starting in the late 1960s, a new genre of unauthorized recording, the "bootleg," found eager listeners, particularly among fans of rock music. Bootlegs offered music that was unavailable elsewhere such as concert recordings and unfinished studio recordings. The widespread availability of compact discs and ever improving recording technology means that some new bootlegs sound better than ever.

This Note explores the history of bootlegs and how copyright law has tried to come to grips with the …