Bootleg remixes(for the older crowed, Whitelabels)
So what is everyone’s thoughts here on bootleg/whitelables remixes. In other words I take a track i wasn’t commissioned to remix and basically do my own remix of the track. I obviously wouldn’t sell it, but i would play it out. Ethical or unethical?
Gee what happened to white-labels now that everythings gone digital? are there whitelabels on beatport? don’t think iv seen any, anyone know?
I love white labels, now it’s all digital so finding those are even harder. Now bootlegs just get put up on blogs and such.
Tho I bought a 2 boxes of vinyl, and included was a white label of James brown is dead.
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see exactly I used to buy whitelabels all the time, now i dont even know where to find them.
I produce my own bootlegs all the time and together with my mixing style it´s one of my sound´s most important feature that makes me stand out from the rest in my area.
I still buy white labels and bootlegs on vinyl. I think its a shame they are dying out, the whole excitement of playing, and hearing other DJ’s play new tunes is almost gone from DJing.
that old james brown is dead isnt a bootleg, thats an original pressing. its first pressing for los angeles i believe was 50 copies that all went to steve loria’s shop beat non stop. thats where i bought mine back in the day.
i believe i paid 25 dollars for it at the time.
Bootlegs and Mashes are all over soundcloud and their ilk. You can still buy physical ‘white labels’ on Juno - one of the last I bought was this one (for the Marvin Gaye remix) - http://www.juno.co.uk/products/push-up-yo-lighta-remix/409766-01/
my problem with giveaway bootlegs is this.
original artist is rarely even asked if it can be given away. if the original artist thinks its cool and posts it on their website thats different.
but if you build a computer program, or i buy a licence for single use ownership of that program, i either steal your program or with the license i bought it with I , and then make it into a different kind of program and decide to give that away.
im still either breaking the terms of the agreement on the sale, or, im giving away stolen property.
so yeah, i avoid them like the plague.
However, if you are just doing them for your own sets, and not re distributing them in any way other than playing out with them. then that falls under the DMCA fair use clause. and thats ok.
that’s been going on in melbourne for a few years now.. and all the popular nightspots have a distinct ‘sound’ that these bootlegs have championed. on itunes check out the “wah wah lounge” and “TFU” podcast for a taste of whats big in melbourne at the moment. personally i dig it.
Making bootlegs or your own remixes is how DJ’s get into production. DJ’s that can produce good tracks tend to be more successful than DJ’s that just play other people’s music.
Trying to clarify a bit
White label: this is just a synonym for promo (i.e., a promotional recording). the name obviously stems from the generic white label on the vinyl holding the audio.
Bootleg: a pressing (or, more generally, recording) not officially released by the artist. In the old days, bootlegs often just contained the same music as some rare and out-of-print EDM record.
I think you are referring to a specific type of bootleg, namely a bootleg containing edits/remixes of song. Actually, you might not even want to call it a bootleg. It’s more akin to publishing stuff that extensively samples other people’s work without prior authorization.
For example, these days, there’s some chatter about an unauthorized edit/mashup of Paperclip People’s “The Climax.” Carl Craig seems to be upset about the issue and has reacted in a number of ways (on Twitter and Soundcloud).
My personal opinion is that unauthorized edits are fine as long as you’re not using them to make a buck. If you’re make money with your edits, I feel the original artist should receive part of the revenues.
on occasion back in the day a whitelabel may be a promo or even as you said, some rare out of print track. However most of the white label I own on vinyl where mostly unauthorized remixes or re-edits of tracks not commisioned by the label.
I agree one should not be making money from bootlegs unless they are girl talk. I view it as a way to really cut my chops at remixing tracks.