moe. Taping Guidelines and Copyright Information
The band moe. has similar taping guidelines and copyright procedures as Phish, the Grateful Dead and Dave Matthews Band. Each band releases official live recordings from time to time, which are copyrighted by law and cannot be traded. The audience recordings of official live releases usually are permitted to be traded. The band’s taping guidelines and copyright information can be found here: moe.’s Taping Guidelines and Copyright Information.
It says:
“moe. has some new taping and trading news to report. Starting fall 1999, we will no longer be allowing board patches. We understand that this might discourage some of you, but keep in mind that many tapers get just as good recording quality from audience mics and will hopefully allow those who do not have the necessary equipment to patch in.
moe. is not in a position to offer AC power to any tapers, so, be prepared to supply and use battery power ONLY.
NO mixers of any type, NO Reel to Reel recorders, NO Multi-track recorders, and NO large equipment boxes of any type will be allowed into any venue.
Please stay out of the way of the working crew at all venues.
Live Tapes are a big part of why moe. is growing rapidly, and we want to continue to provide a cozy taping environment for everyone. Please respect the wishes of the band and crew and please feel free to ask questions and make comments. It’s always been a goal of ours to make taping as much a part of the show as possible, please help us help you by following common sense at all times. We always try and make it as easy as possible for everyone to enjoy our shows. Respect your neighbors space.
The band has asked that you do not place your mic stands in certain areas of the venue as it impairs the sight lines of the lighting director, Chris Ragan. Upon arrival at the show, please listen to the crew and obey their wishes. While both crew and band are very enthusiastic about live taping, their top priority is putting on a quality show. At many shows you may be asked not to set up in front of the soundboard. The moe. organization as also expressed a desire that those with microphones share stands when possible. Please, if you have them, bring your clamps.
While video taping was allowed for a long period of time, that is no longer the case. As of Spring 1998, video taping is no longer permitted at moe. shows. There are, however, many quality videos to be found, through trade, for shows prior to this period.
moe. does allowing trading of CD-R. You may not trade any CD-R of moe. albums only live recordings. The band strongly supports trading of their live shows while discouraging *ANY* sale of live recordings, this includes the so-called “tape fee”. moe. has stated that they will end all taping privileges if there is any evidence of sales of any kind.
For further information on CD-R’s, check out these resources:
MP3 and other downloadable formats on the Internet are acceptable, but the band asks the following considerations: the webpage must be dedicated exclusively to moe. content, there cannot be any advertising on the page and no links to pages other than the moe.website.
There is currently no “official” policy on photography. Recent mailers even display the photography of select moe.rons. Great results can be obtained without the use of a flash. Keep it low key and don’t bother those around you. As long as it doesn’t become a disturbance, moe. may not see a need to create any policy regarding the use of cameras. Some venues may have their own restrictions.
If you are new to moe. and are looking to get some live tapes, there are ways to go about it:
1)Respond to tape offers. Often, those who have live tapes will offer them up over the moe-l. This is a great way for those who have no tapes to find some and for those with many to share the music.
2) Tape trees and vines. If you are unfamiliar with a tape tree is or how one works, you can check out this excerpt from the Grateful Dead FAQ:
What is a Tape Tree and how does it work?
3) Grovels, or posting to the net. Although it possible to get live tapes this way, it is a method that is generally looked upon as a waste of bandwidth. The previous two methods are much better means.
Shorten (.shn) is a lossless compression format. For a list of moe. .shns in circulation, visit the etree site:
http://db.etree.org/db/sources/artists
For more information on the Shorten format:
http://www.etree.org/shncom.html
Confused by the source information provided on a tape? moe.links has a guide to help you figure them out!
http://www.moelinks.com/random/source/
moe. does indeed tape their performances and has since Brendan O’Neill joined on as soundman in March 1995. There are also numerous tapes from prior to this time from many different sources. The moe. archives are maintained by Stan Lobitz. Almost every show is there on DAT from the time that Brendan joined the crew.”
Below is a clip of the song “Rebubula” by moe., performed live on 3/29/09 at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, MA. Enjoy! 🙂
The Live Music Archives 