I've been kicking this idea around for months, even years. I don't like to advertise any type of selling of recorded materials here, since the copyright issues alone would scare any sane attorney away. But everyone here knows full well that most of us have traded items (music or video) privately and offline.
I'm welcome to opening up the Trading Post further to welcome an active trading community. In my own mind, I hate to have anyone offer me something and not have anything in return to give them--I'm very much a believer in one-on-one trading. (Like I'm a good example--my schedule and totally upside-down and unsettling offline life lately has really set me behind on catching up on some of the trades I've promised in the past.)
We could do this one of two ways: private trading or public trading. Here are my ideas:
1. Private trading--this continuing our current practice of just e-mailing or private-messaging each other when we have something to offer, or something we need.
2. Public trading--this is like a "trading tree" in which a trader would put two lists into a post in our Trading Post forum. One list would be a list of what that trader has to offer. The second list is a want list of what that trader is looking for.
Tape trading for some devout listeners of bands like Grateful Dead is nearly legendary, with a large, healthy and active "live" taping community that has the full blessing of the band. Even BR549 encourages people to tape their gigs, and trade them. (BR549 has built up a playlist of their own tunes and cover songs that numbers maybe 300-400.)
I'm all for allowing public trading messages in the forum, with a couple of "Gotchas":
1. If the A&M artist has prohibited live taping (in other words, if you or someone else has snuck a tape recorder into a live concert where it's usually not allowed), I would not want that posted publicly.
2. If it's a recording that is in print, or out of print but still readily available, I would not advise posting that here either. Mono copy of Lonely Bull trasnfered from an LP to cassette or CD? I wouldn't mind that. But anyone asking for a dub of TJB's "Foursider" CD may be pushing it a bit.
3. For any trades, no money should change hands. Consider a one-for-one trade--offer something if you want something. The only thing that might be worht paying for is blank media or postage...but even there, a person could send a blank CD and a postage-paid return envelope if it indeed becomes a "one-way" trade. Above all, what two parties work out and agree to is fine...but keep the money out of it.
The only bit of legalese I'd throw in is that the Corner would not be responsible if, say, one of A&M's artists has a hissy fit about trading going on with their items. All I can ask is that they contact me or any of our staff and ask that the item be removed (we wont' take the fall, in other words); we are not responsible for what members post, of course, and we would assume that anyone posting available items is familiar with the artists' or labels' ideas of what could be considered fair for trading.
The one change I would make is that a person would have to be registered to view the trading post forum. This will help keep the trading manageable, and keeps the internet-at-large from cherry-picking from the available traders' recordings. I would like trading to be a fun and pleasurable experience...not a burden. This might also make us look better to the labels or management if they happen to stumble across it, since the general public would not have access to it.
Anyone think this is a good idea, or a magnet for trouble? Any other recommendations or ideas to make this a reality? Comments welcome!
I'm welcome to opening up the Trading Post further to welcome an active trading community. In my own mind, I hate to have anyone offer me something and not have anything in return to give them--I'm very much a believer in one-on-one trading. (Like I'm a good example--my schedule and totally upside-down and unsettling offline life lately has really set me behind on catching up on some of the trades I've promised in the past.)
We could do this one of two ways: private trading or public trading. Here are my ideas:
1. Private trading--this continuing our current practice of just e-mailing or private-messaging each other when we have something to offer, or something we need.
2. Public trading--this is like a "trading tree" in which a trader would put two lists into a post in our Trading Post forum. One list would be a list of what that trader has to offer. The second list is a want list of what that trader is looking for.
Tape trading for some devout listeners of bands like Grateful Dead is nearly legendary, with a large, healthy and active "live" taping community that has the full blessing of the band. Even BR549 encourages people to tape their gigs, and trade them. (BR549 has built up a playlist of their own tunes and cover songs that numbers maybe 300-400.)
I'm all for allowing public trading messages in the forum, with a couple of "Gotchas":
1. If the A&M artist has prohibited live taping (in other words, if you or someone else has snuck a tape recorder into a live concert where it's usually not allowed), I would not want that posted publicly.
2. If it's a recording that is in print, or out of print but still readily available, I would not advise posting that here either. Mono copy of Lonely Bull trasnfered from an LP to cassette or CD? I wouldn't mind that. But anyone asking for a dub of TJB's "Foursider" CD may be pushing it a bit.
3. For any trades, no money should change hands. Consider a one-for-one trade--offer something if you want something. The only thing that might be worht paying for is blank media or postage...but even there, a person could send a blank CD and a postage-paid return envelope if it indeed becomes a "one-way" trade. Above all, what two parties work out and agree to is fine...but keep the money out of it.
The only bit of legalese I'd throw in is that the Corner would not be responsible if, say, one of A&M's artists has a hissy fit about trading going on with their items. All I can ask is that they contact me or any of our staff and ask that the item be removed (we wont' take the fall, in other words); we are not responsible for what members post, of course, and we would assume that anyone posting available items is familiar with the artists' or labels' ideas of what could be considered fair for trading.
The one change I would make is that a person would have to be registered to view the trading post forum. This will help keep the trading manageable, and keeps the internet-at-large from cherry-picking from the available traders' recordings. I would like trading to be a fun and pleasurable experience...not a burden. This might also make us look better to the labels or management if they happen to stumble across it, since the general public would not have access to it.
Anyone think this is a good idea, or a magnet for trouble? Any other recommendations or ideas to make this a reality? Comments welcome!
