After 14 years and probably the same in $$$ so many fans waiting to hear this long, long, long awaited new album (even some who have waited so long that they will never get a chance to hear the album) Guns n' Roses are about to release Chinese Democracy... maybe!
But for one poor guy - Skwerl - getting his hands on some tracks that seemed to be in a better state than some of the others that have previously been "leaked", even to the point that they could even be finished articles of the tracks that were listed, was all too much for Geffen, Axl and the FBI.
Skwerl received the tracks and through his Blog allowed users to stream and listen to them. In my day (being an oldie) that was called bootlegging - and many a C90 did I have back in my day with various releases that still had a year before its release - but the fact that one of the sound engineers had some rough demos - and knew that the fans would love to hear how the new sound was shaping up - he made a few bucks by selling them in bars and clubs. This was then distributed by mail order / pen pals (yes we used to write letters to friends around the world and wait weeks between reply's) and then once in UK, Europe, wherever home copies were made and I was a proud owner of a 34th generation copy of Guns n' Roses Appetite for Destruction!
WOW it was rough and ready and RAW!!! The final album was actually quite close to some of that sound but well polished by Barbiero & Thompson and Produced by Clink meant that by the time it was released I was salivating, queuing up for my vinyl copy at my local record store.
Now 2008 - Skwerl gets his hands on tracks and, as I mentioned already, posts on his blog - not for profit, not charging people, but spreading the word and the message that he has some tracks that perhaps the fans may want to hear! Chinese Democracy has been leaked before, many times, many versions, various quality! Many ex-members have discussed, cussed and revealed what is making Axl tic, toc and ROCK!
BUT HOLD ON!!!
FBI? Copy Infringement? FBI? - I have to go back to the point that the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been involved in a case where an artist has claimed that the music that is being streamed on a guy's blog is his (is this then confirmation that this is the final version?? or close to?) and that it must be taken down - does that really need the involvement of the FBI?
And this is the main point - the only difference from 20 years ago is that the impact is INSTANT!!! Skwerl can post the tracks and within seconds millions of us can hear the tracks - comment on and discuss - yes you can say that the point of surprise is that the fans have waited 14 years for it they do not want it to be "spoiled by some blog geek" - then don't listen to it! Just like back in my day some of my friends didn't want to hear the C90 I had, and wanted to wait for the album! Fair enough!
Why so much pressure and power on one guy - unless Axl wants to know where the leak came from - there is a more subtle way to determine that rather than on this scale?
Digital Media is a wonderful playground to experiment on and try new ideas and tactics especially within Music. Bootlegging is getting even more sophisticated and can be downloaded and streamed any place, anytime anywhere?
So why are we at a stage where we have police, FBI, Governments etc... clamping down so hard on this area - I can think of only one thing, and it has nothing to do with artistic integrity, copyright or anything related to that at all - no the only reason is $
(Chinese) Democracy: is a system of government by which political sovereignty is retained by the people and exercised directly by citizens?
