Editing Bootleg recording (section)

===1990s–present===
Following the success of ''Ultra Rare Trax'', the 1990s saw an increased production of bootleg CDs, including reissues of shows that had been recorded decades previously. In particular, companies in Germany and Italy exploited the more relaxed copyright laws in those countries by pressing large numbers of CDs and including catalogs of other titles on the inlays, making it easier for fans to find and order shows direct.<ref name="Galloway" />{{sfn|Heylin|2010|p=369}} Similarly, relaxed copyright laws in Australia meant that the most serious legal challenge to unauthorised releases were made on the grounds of trademark law by [[Sony Music Entertainment]] in 1993. Court findings were in favour of allowing the release of unauthorised recordings clearly marked as "unauthorised". The updated [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade|GATT 1994]] agreement soon closed this so-called "protection gap" in all three aforementioned countries effective 1 January 1995.{{sfn|Heylin|2010|p=279}}

By this time, access to the Internet was increasing, and bootleg review sites began to appear. The quality control of bootlegs began to be scrutinised, as a negative review of one could adversely harm sales.{{sfn|Heylin|2010|p=458}} Bootlegs began to increase in size, with multi-CD packages being common. In 1999, a 4-CD set was released containing three and a half hours of recording sessions for the [[Beach Boys]]' "[[Good Vibrations]]", spanning seven months.{{sfn|Heylin|2010|p=462}}

The tightening of laws and increased enforcement by police on behalf of the [[British Phonographic Industry]] (BPI), [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) and other industry groups—often for peripheral issues such as [[tax evasion]]—gradually drove the distributors of for-profit vinyl and CD bootlegs further underground.<ref name="Galloway" /> Physical bootlegging largely shifted to countries with laxer copyright laws, with the results distributed through existing underground channels, open-market sites such as [[eBay]], and other specialised websites. By the end of the decade, eBay had forbidden bootlegs.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0BAEAAAAMBAJ&q=ebay+bootlegs&pg=PA115|title=half.com, buy.com Team on Latest Used Goods Sites|magazine=Billboard|date=18 November 2000|page=115|access-date=20 December 2015}}</ref>

The late 1990s saw an increase in the free trading of digital bootlegs, sharply decreasing the demand for and profitability of physical bootlegs. The rise of [[audio file format]]s such as [[MP3]] and [[Real Audio]], combined with the ability to share files between computers via the internet, made it simpler for collectors to exchange bootlegs. The arrival of [[Napster]] in 1999 made it easy to share bootlegs over a large computer network.{{sfn|Heylin|2010|p=476}} Older analog recordings were converted to digital format, tracks from bootleg CDs were [[ripping|ripped]] to computer hard disks, and new material was created with [[digital recording]] of various types; all of these types could now be easily shared. Instead of album-length collections or live recordings of entire shows, fans often now had the option of searching for and downloading bootlegs of songs.<ref>Jordan, Keith. "[http://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/magazine/2006/11/internet-bootlegs.php T'Internet – A Bootleg Fan's Paradise] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116040411/http://www.neptunepinkfloyd.co.uk/magazine/2006/11/internet-bootlegs.php |date=16 January 2007 }}" – The Past, Present and Future of Bootlegs considering the internet. ''NPF Magazine''. November 2006.</ref> Artists had a mixed reaction to online bootleg sharing; Bob Dylan allowed fans to download archive recordings from his official website, while [[King Crimson]]'s [[Robert Fripp]] and [[Metallica]] were strongly critical of the ease with which Napster circumvented traditional channels of royalty payments.{{sfn|Heylin|2010|pp=478–9}}

The video sharing website YouTube became a major carrier of bootleg recordings. YouTube's owner, Google, believes that under the "safe-harbor" provision of the [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]] (DMCA), it cannot be held responsible for content, allowing bootleg media to be hosted on it without fear of a lawsuit. As the technology to host videos is open and available, shutting down YouTube may simply mean the content migrates elsewhere.{{sfn|Hilderbrand|2009|p=242}} An audience recording of one of [[David Bowie]]'s last concerts before he retired from touring in 2004 was uploaded to YouTube and received a positive review in ''Rolling Stone''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bootleg-of-the-week-david-bowie-live-in-atlantic-city-5-29-04-20151204|title=Bootleg of the Week: David Bowie Live in Atlantic City 5/29/04|first=Andy|last=Greene|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=4 December 2015|access-date=21 December 2015}}</ref> [[Bilal (American singer)|Bilal]]'s unreleased second album, ''[[Love for Sale (Bilal album)|Love for Sale]]'', leaked in 2006 and became one of the most infamously bootlegged recordings during the digital piracy era,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Larrier|first=Travis|date=4 March 2013|url=https://theshadowleague.com/bilal-is-the-future-and-the-present-and-the-past/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=c2ffa10bef1f424fb252543ee09315d038103bd2-1595252623-0-AQaQvFZEknRWDZtLz_-KpHpRYNhNqscHTfCHp6Tr8hduX5gs6uyAaQfef1hB3snODkYFwgSlXH9pQZS_OgmovWZg1dxWOfdv6KYaotwCiVhAfOA1NooyRIZBbQ7AuwrnezemOt0aOvC5JqXaUG-ixf6x0eEfcLz6_aB4mZaVUtX5eXwwFSBkfNJmBxG6In4wWiDOMJXhVyzdm_YyrRyUJNYEEsTZ9jXVjo4xZCyDtxOzub5oRn9F3uGLl4IYob_-oI06lSh6NUnbSSYC8SejeXAaDrJ45SThoPXWHhy2_qU8bC0XPFFKmGzELGJ4Di6R6VT6lqtMNIwnKTLQL7_EXDk|title=Bilal Is the Future (And the Present ... And the Past)|magazine=The Shadow League|access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref> with its songs since remaining on YouTube.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=31 August 2020|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/blog/archives/2879-Music-Week.html|title=Music Week|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|access-date=2 September 2020}}</ref> [[Lana Del Rey]]'s 2006 demo album ''[[Sirens (May Jailer album)|Sirens]]'' leaked on YouTube in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lana Del Rey's first album 'Sirens' leaks – The Strut |url=http://www.thestrut.com/2012/05/31/lana-del-reys-first-album-sirens-leaks/ |access-date=11 August 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2010, YouTube removed a 15-minute limit on videos, allowing entire concerts to be uploaded.<ref name=knopper>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/top-artists-adjust-to-new-world-of-youtube-bootlegs-20121217|title=Top Artists Adjust to New World of YouTube Bootlegs|first=Steve|last=Knopper|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=17 December 2012|access-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>