| August 12th, 2005 09:46 AM |
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| M.O.W.A.T. |
By JASON MACNEIL, SPECIAL TO THE SUN
IT WASN'T live, it was Memorex -- a three-year-old, illegal bootleg recording at that.
While 1,000 lucky people were getting their ya-yas out with the Rolling Stones in person Wednesday at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, thousands unable to attend apparently thought they were hearing the concert live on Toronto's classic-rock FM radio station.
Q107's program director yesterday denied the station was deliberately duping its listeners.
The confusion started on Tuesday, when Q107 sent an e-mail message to its mailing-list members informing them of speculation about a possible Stones club show. The mass e-mail also stated: "Regardless of where the Stones perform, keep it tuned to the Mighty Q tomorrow night at 8 p.m. where you'll hear the Stones LIVE on Q107!"
Many of those who listened to the station during the day on Wednesday also got the impression they'd get to hear the Phoenix concert live by tuning in at showtime. In fact, what listeners heard was a bootleg taping of the Stones' surprise club gig at Toronto's Palais Royale in August 2002, which the band kicked off with It's Only Rock And Roll.
The station evidently never specifically told its listeners it was simulcasting the Stones show from the Phoenix, but one listener, Steve Popichak, who e-mailed the Sun said, "During their broadcast, their announcer came on between songs and made references to this performance happening right in front of him right there at the Phoenix."
"Well, it was live Stones," DJ John Scholes told the Sun Wednesday night.
Blair Bartrem, Q107's program director, yesterday told the Sun that the station received 30 to 40 complaints from fans, via e-mail. He said he takes responsibility for the confusion and that, in hindsight, the e-mail should have been clearer.
"I think a few of our Q listeners felt that we were trying to deceive them, which clearly wasn't our intent," Bartrem said. "I mean, there's a trust that we have with our audience, obviously, and we're not trying to pull a fast one."
Bartrem said the bootleg recording "landed on our desk" unexpectedly. "It was a soundboard recording that an anonymous listener, or whoever, just threw in a brown envelope and dropped it off at the station. We opened it and went, 'Holy crap!' And we said, 'What do you think?' The timing was great and so we decided to run it at the same time."
When asked if he feared the band's management might take action regarding the bootleg's broadcast, Bartrem said, "No, at this point I'm not. Ask me tomorrow after we get our cease-and-desist," he added with a laugh.
Under Canadian and world copyright law, any unauthorized broadcast of an artist's work is unlawful.
Michael Cohl, the Toronto-based tour promoter and manager of the Rolling Stones, told the Sun last night his office was unaware what Q107 was doing.
"There are no authorized recordings of that show, period," he said.
Cohl said he wasn't angry the station broke the law by airing the bootleg. "Was it good quality? That's what I want to know, because it was a great show," he said. If, however, Q listeners felt they were misled to believe they were hearing a sanctioned simulcast of Wednesday's Phoenix gig, Cohl said he'd "be very upset."
Will the Stones' lawyers come knocking on the Q107's doors this morning? "No," Cohl said. "But the morning after the next bootleg broadcast we might."
Bartrem said he asked DJ John Derringer to name him 'Tool Of The Day' on today's Q107 morning show.
Bloggers on Tuesday and Wednesday were abuzz with anticipation about the perceived simulcast. An Ottawa resident filed a complaint with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. He said other fans might do the same |
| August 12th, 2005 09:51 AM |
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| Monkey Woman |
Does Bartem believe people will believe him???
"The timing was great and so we decided to run it at the same time."
Yes, indeed! They thought it would be a nice little scam... And the "brown enveloppe" stuff... Bootlegs falling from heaven, oh my!!! 
Only 30 or 40 e-mails? Come on. |
| August 12th, 2005 09:57 AM |
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| Gazza |
It was quite obviously a deliberately misleading piece of advertising, or in their words "we were perhaps vague in the way we positioned the program".
quite a lot of complaints by folks over on iorr who mailed their disgust with about 6-7 threads devoted to it. Personally, I'm aamzed at anyone thinking they'd broadcast the gig.... |
| August 12th, 2005 10:06 AM |
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| beer |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
Personally, I'm aamzed at anyone thinking they'd broadcast the gig....
I did call that radio station around noon the day of the show and they certainly told me that they would be broadcasting the phoenix show live.
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| August 12th, 2005 10:21 AM |
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| Gazza |
fair enough, although I think that, although they can be slow on updates at times, that would have been something the official site would have been quick to tell us about had it been true
the fact that they told you they were broadcasting it live proves that their 'vagueness' was deliberately misleading in order to hook in more listeners |
| August 12th, 2005 11:28 AM |
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| glencar |
The canadian FCC should fine those bastids! |
| August 12th, 2005 11:52 AM |
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| sirmoonie |
What a bunch of freakin' liars. That was so obvious an attempt to dupe listeners. They just miscalculated horribly at how educated Rolling Stones fans are.
I hope the Stones sue their ass for that bootleg 2002 tape too. |
| August 12th, 2005 11:11 PM |
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| Lazy Bones |
So everyone feels better...today, I learned that Blair Bartrem, program director and individual that claims responsibility regarding listeners being misled to the "live" braodcast was at the show, Wednesday! |
| August 12th, 2005 11:24 PM |
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| Angiegirl |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
It was quite obviously a deliberately misleading piece of advertising, or in their words "we were perhaps vague in the way we positioned the program".
quite a lot of complaints by folks over on iorr who mailed their disgust with about 6-7 threads devoted to it. Personally, I'm aamzed at anyone thinking they'd broadcast the gig....
Right. I just laughed. Shrugged. Got on with my life.
Howe can anyone make such a fuss about that shit? Not important. Now, if we're talking about Mick bashing Bush in Sweet Neo Con, that'd be interesting at least! |
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