Tape trees flourishing - Fans flock to Net for videos of favorite shows
By JEFF CRAIG -- Express Writer
HOLLYWOOD -- "Help! I'm an American!"
A stand-up comic could probably run off in a thousand different directions with a plea like that, but in a way it was an off-hand compliment to the Canadian television show Black Harbour.
The CBC drama, about to enter its third season, is not available in the United States but is nonetheless popular south of the border ... thanks to yet another innovation courtesy the Internet: The tape tree.
The posting, from a Niamh Wynn in Boston, was a request for information on the Black Harbour tape tree - a highly organized hierarchy of copying videotapes of the show and distributing them to fans.
Such underground bootlegging has gone on for years, of course, with bands such as the Grateful Dead (and their '90s adopted offspring, Phish). But with the Internet, the whole process has become organized and has spread to include not only bands, but television shows. Last year, Ken Finkleman's Newsroom was also a popular show traded through Internet tape trees. But after the show began airing widely on PBS in the States, the demand declined.
Many producers froth at the notion of tape trees - Paramount in particular is fierce about guarding anything to do with Star Trek and has its lawyers pounce nearly every time the science fiction franchise is mentioned on a personal Web site.
For audio tapes, the other extreme exists with bands such as Phish and Dave Matthews, who encourage their fans to tape shows and spread the word via newsgroups and e-mail campaigns.
Somewhere in between, it could be said, would be the producers of Black Harbour, Wayne Grigsby and Barbara Samuels. The pair, who also created the now-defunct North of 60 series, go so far as to have tape tree info on the official Black Harbour site.
In an interview with The Sun earlier this year, Samuels said she was flattered by the attention of tape trees.
"I think it's a great method of increasing the fan base for the show," she said. "With that increased awareness comes an increased chance that we can sell the show in other countries."
Fans from all over the world - Norway to Japan and, of course, the States, where co-star Geraint Wyn Davies has a solid following, can trade information on how to get tapes through the official CBC Web site's message board.
But that's the easy part. Tape trees are actually very complex structures that rely on each member doing his or her part.
According to Michael Witt, who runs trees on the band Phish, the tape tree is structured much like its name implies: "The master recording from which the first generation tapes will be copied is called the 'seed.' People will apply to a tape tree and volunteer to make a set number of copies. Anyone making a copy for another person is called a `branch.' The person who is receiving this copy is appropriately called a `leaf.' The last level of people to receive tapes do not make copies for anyone else, so they are called `terminal leaves.' "
Once a tree is established, Witt sets a deadline, after which the cascade of tape copying begins.
And while it won't pacify the lawyers or some producers, tape trees are run purely for the distribution of material to fans, Witt says, not for profit. The tapes aren't sold - instead, a person who wants a copy of a band's performance or, say, a Black Harbour episode, sends two blank tapes to the "branch" above him. One tape is used for the copy and returned, while the other is kept by the "branch" to cover postage costs.
"These distributions are strictly non-profit," Witt says, adding that there is a firm etiquette and philosophy behind the underground groups.
"There are unwritten rules which can only be learned through experience. These artists allow taping at their concerts because they believe and trust in the spirit of what we are doing. It would break my heart to see my efforts plastered onto a bootleg compact disc."
This isn't a problem for Black Habour, says Samuels, who believes her show gets all the benefit and none of the detriment of what ultimately amounts to illegal copyright violations. (It's pretty unlikely somebody is going to start burning DVDs or mass producing videos of Black Harbour.) "I think it fosters demand for the show - and there's nothing wrong with that."
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By JEFF CRAIG -- Express Writer
HOLLYWOOD -- "Help! I'm an American!"
A stand-up comic could probably run off in a thousand different directions with a plea like that, but in a way it was an off-hand compliment to the Canadian television show Black Harbour.
The CBC drama, about to enter its third season, is not available in the United States but is nonetheless popular south of the border ... thanks to yet another innovation courtesy the Internet: The tape tree.
The posting, from a Niamh Wynn in Boston, was a request for information on the Black Harbour tape tree - a highly organized hierarchy of copying videotapes of the show and distributing them to fans.
Such underground bootlegging has gone on for years, of course, with bands such as the Grateful Dead (and their '90s adopted offspring, Phish). But with the Internet, the whole process has become organized and has spread to include not only bands, but television shows. Last year, Ken Finkleman's Newsroom was also a popular show traded through Internet tape trees. But after the show began airing widely on PBS in the States, the demand declined.
Many producers froth at the notion of tape trees - Paramount in particular is fierce about guarding anything to do with Star Trek and has its lawyers pounce nearly every time the science fiction franchise is mentioned on a personal Web site.
For audio tapes, the other extreme exists with bands such as Phish and Dave Matthews, who encourage their fans to tape shows and spread the word via newsgroups and e-mail campaigns.
Somewhere in between, it could be said, would be the producers of Black Harbour, Wayne Grigsby and Barbara Samuels. The pair, who also created the now-defunct North of 60 series, go so far as to have tape tree info on the official Black Harbour site.
In an interview with The Sun earlier this year, Samuels said she was flattered by the attention of tape trees.
"I think it's a great method of increasing the fan base for the show," she said. "With that increased awareness comes an increased chance that we can sell the show in other countries."
Fans from all over the world - Norway to Japan and, of course, the States, where co-star Geraint Wyn Davies has a solid following, can trade information on how to get tapes through the official CBC Web site's message board.
But that's the easy part. Tape trees are actually very complex structures that rely on each member doing his or her part.
According to Michael Witt, who runs trees on the band Phish, the tape tree is structured much like its name implies: "The master recording from which the first generation tapes will be copied is called the 'seed.' People will apply to a tape tree and volunteer to make a set number of copies. Anyone making a copy for another person is called a `branch.' The person who is receiving this copy is appropriately called a `leaf.' The last level of people to receive tapes do not make copies for anyone else, so they are called `terminal leaves.' "
Once a tree is established, Witt sets a deadline, after which the cascade of tape copying begins.
And while it won't pacify the lawyers or some producers, tape trees are run purely for the distribution of material to fans, Witt says, not for profit. The tapes aren't sold - instead, a person who wants a copy of a band's performance or, say, a Black Harbour episode, sends two blank tapes to the "branch" above him. One tape is used for the copy and returned, while the other is kept by the "branch" to cover postage costs.
"These distributions are strictly non-profit," Witt says, adding that there is a firm etiquette and philosophy behind the underground groups.
"There are unwritten rules which can only be learned through experience. These artists allow taping at their concerts because they believe and trust in the spirit of what we are doing. It would break my heart to see my efforts plastered onto a bootleg compact disc."
This isn't a problem for Black Habour, says Samuels, who believes her show gets all the benefit and none of the detriment of what ultimately amounts to illegal copyright violations. (It's pretty unlikely somebody is going to start burning DVDs or mass producing videos of Black Harbour.) "I think it fosters demand for the show - and there's nothing wrong with that."
Back to articles