Dead Heads win download fight

2005-12-01 12:06

San Francisco - What a short, strange trip it was.

After the Grateful Dead halted free downloads of its ubiquitously circulating concerts from a non-profit website last week, surviving members of the psychedelic jam band changed their position on Wednesday amid protests from some of their biggest fans (referred to as Dead Heads).

Internet Archive, a site that catalogues content on website, was expected to repost recordings of Grateful Dead concerts for download, after band members decided to make them available again.

Band spokesperson Dennis McNally said on Wednesday that members gave their approval after a discussion prompted by the backlash from fans, who for decades have freely taped and traded the band's live performances.

"The Grateful Dead remains as it always has - in favour of tape trading," McNally said.

Protecting the Grateful Dead's rights

An online petition protesting the decision to stop the downloads had collected more than 5 200 signatures as of Wednesday.

"The internet archive has been a resource that is important to all of us," states the petition, which also threatens a boycott of Grateful Dead recordings and merchandise. "Between the music, and interviews in the archive we are able to experience the Grateful Dead fully."

McNally said the band appreciated the strong fan response, "but also hope that people will calm down a little bit" after Wednesday's decision.

Band members consented to making audience recordings available for download again, although live recordings made directly from concert soundboards, which are the legal property of the Grateful Dead and had been completely removed from the website, should only be made available for listening, McNally said.

The soundboard recordings are "very much part of their legacy, and their rights need to be protected", he said.

Sale of merchandise crucial

Representatives from the Internet Archive didn't answer calls from The Associated Press on Wednesday to confirm when the downloads would be available again.

The Grateful Dead, which disbanded in 1995 following the death of guitarist and lead singer Jerry Garcia, once set concert attendance records and generated millions of dollars in revenue from extensive tours.

With concert tickets now removed as a source of revenue, sales of the band's music and other merchandise have become increasingly important in an age where music is distributed digitally instead of on CDs, vinyl and cassette tapes.

And the arrival of Apple Computer Inc's iTunes online music store, and other similar sites, means free downloads can be seen as competition, said Marc Schiller, chief executive of Electricartists, which helps musicians market themselves online.

The band sells music on iTunes and exclusive shows through its website.

The Grateful Dead's freeform improvisational style led to vastly different sounding songs, from year to year or even night to night.

Fans eager to explore the varying versions of shows frequently built large collections of shows spanning the band's 30-year career. The band even encouraged recording of their live shows, establishing a cordoned section for fans to set up taping equipment.

- AP