Thank you everyone for participating in my little experiment. Thanks especially to Simon who started things off by noting he was in the UK. Many of you followed and noted where you are from. It was very fun to see how international this site has become.
Obviously, some things are going on with the site and I wanted to take a moment to explain them, and to talk about some upcoming changes.
The other day I received an e-mail from a woman who runs the estate of an artist I recently posted. She asked me to take the post down and vaguely threatened me with legal action. I immediately removed the post and told her I did so. She thanked me and then threatened me with more legal action if she ever saw that show posted anywhere else.
So please, if you downloaded the Richie Havens show from me do not share it anywhere else.
I don’t believe she will sue me over this, but the whole incident has made me nervous.
I’ve always known there was a risk in running this site and sharing these shows. I feel like ROIOs are a bit of a legally gray area. I don’t share any copies of official releases, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get sued and that I wouldn’t lose if I did.
I figure my site is too small to get noticed very often and so the chances of being sued are slim. But they aren’t zero. And this incident has made me nervous enough to make some changes.
I still want to share shows, but I want to make the risk minimal.
The obvious answer is to make the site private. That’s exactly what I’ve done for now. That will make the risk nearly zero. It will keep prying eyes from finding the site. But it also means potential fans of the site will not likely find it either.
This is especially irksome since I’ve spent the last year or so writing about movies and pop culture. I want the public to read that stuff. I want it to be seen by as many people as possible. Maybe that’s just ego-talking, but it is true. I hate the idea of my reviews and such not being public.
But what to do?
I’ve been playing around with the settings. There is a way to make individual posts only viewable to subscribers. That’s what the experiment was about. It still sends out an e-mail and if you are logged in then you can read the posts on the site. But if you are not a subscriber then you cannot read the post. Potentially I could make the shows only viewable to subscribers and that would help keep out unwanted eyes.
However, the title of each post is still public and presumably searchable to places like Google. That could lead potential suers to my site. They wouldn’t be able to read the post and thus see that I’m sharing download links, but if they were curious they could subscribe and then I’m busted.
Another thought was to keep the show posts public, but not actually post a download link. Then once a day I could do a subscriber-only post that would include the Google Drive links for the day’s shows. I’d make the title of that post vague and generic so the general public wouldn’t know what I was doing.
But that seems like extra work for me and it would probably be annoying to you all.
My next idea was to create a new site just for the movie talk. Midnight Cafe Movies I could call it. I’ve actually thought about doing this before as I sometimes think about contacting movie PR people to start officially reviewing things like I do for Cinema Sentries. But I worried that directing movie people to my site where I also share music downloads might cause problems. But a movie-only site would be cool.
The trouble is The Midnight Cafe has a certain amount of cache. It has a small amount of Google juice. It is a known site. I want that cache for a movie site, but not for the music…
I think I have devised a plan. I’m working on something I think might make it possible for me to continue posting shows, but in a very private way, but also write about movies in a public fashion.
I’ll reveal that in another later today. It is going to take a lot of work on my part, and probably be a little annoying on your part, but I think it just might work.
themidnightcafe.org 
Mat, first thanks for your time and efforts. It’s very much appreciated. I rarely if ever comment back to you, but I’ve enjoyed your words and music posts.
What ever you see best to limit your potential liability and continue to share is fine with me/ regards. Hugh Scofield (USA)
Hi Mat,
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Hi Mat, thanks for the post. It is a pity you have to be guarded about such things, especially when those of us who have followed you for some years, know you are just being kind, and not trying to profit from anything. I like all the music, and the movie stuff so this does sound interesting.
Don’t worry Mat. Take your time and keep up the good work! Dino from Italy
Thanks for all that you do, and do whatever you need to do to protect yourself!
Larry from Iowa
So she hit you but not https://archive.org/details/RichieHavens2008-05-10?
Hi Mat!
First of all, I feel we don’t say it enough: thank you so much for all your work!
I’m very sorry for all the problems which make you waste precious time and work a lot more than usual, only to keep your blog alive and well, and to keep us all happy with your treasure chest always filled with goodies!
Thank you!
Thanks for all the work you do sharing the music Mat. It is a shame the woman doesn’t want to share Richie’s music without profiting from it
I sort of get it. Part of what she complained about is that people like me put these shows up on the Internet for free and then some unscrupulous folks in South Korea or wherever make CDs of the music and sell it on the black market. And it is nearly impossible to stop them.
Obviously I’m not for selling bootlegs, but I also think it is wrongheaded to go after fans who are sharing unreleased music for free. I can guarantee you the people who come to my site more often than not go to the concerts, buy the merch and the albums. We are super fans, that’s why we collect all of these not-so-perfect recordings.
Brother…you got more plans then James Bond! 😂 Getting sued ain’t no fun. Going private may be the only way…funny how some bands support tapers & it doesn’t seem to hurt their popularity. Now if the artists who are upset really want a cause…go after Spotify & other streaming sites. They really rip off the artists…and they smile all the way to the bank. Good Luck my friend.
Yes, attacking superfans who collect not-in-any-way perfect audiencr recordings of shows just seems like a dumb move. Like we are the people who buy all the stuff.
If you ask me, people that threaten blogs or other online sharing platforms are 99% bluffs. They have no life except that of striking fear into others who are not doing anything wrong. I don’t think that person, whoever she/he may be has anything to do with Havens… That sort of menacing happens to so many other blogs with no resulting trouble, except the worrying.
I hope you do what you gotta do, but don’t let yourself go overboard.
And, as previously stated: THANX FOR ALL YOU DO & HAVE DONE.
I think that is largely true. I know there are companies who search the internet for copyrighted images and then threaten to sue even though they have no claim over the copyright either. but they know some people will pay.
I did a little searching and it does seem like this person is connected to the Havens estate. And I get it this is her job and she makes money from his music and merch. She’s trying to protect that. I just wish folks like that understood that the people who collect audience recordings are the same people who buy the merch and support the artist. We are not the enemy.
Looking forward to the changes from Texas , I find it funny we can get boots from Japan and Canada but here they slap us with a iron hand. sorry to hear you had a problem, it is not like you are Selling the shows and making money
As I mentioned above, I get it. She’s just trying to protect her livelihood. I just wish they understood that we’re not the people who are destroying that livelihood. We’re super fans.
thanks for all that you do and be looking forward to your next move
Do what tho wilt; is the whole of the law.
You da man in charge… and so will they follow.
You have a nice grip on society, with your blog.
I’ve been with you since the beginning, and have indulged greatly.
My own personal opinion… I can’t stand the “estates” who now own “catalogs” are doing what they “feel” they can do. It’s all about money, for THEM. For the original artists, it was the music, simple as that. Not that it wasn’t “making a living”…. but you know.
I myself have gone up against the government, a few times… property rights and “eminent domain” issues that evolved into a U.S. Supreme Court fight for over 5 decades. So I know about “David vs. Goliath”
I am not a very big movie buff… but have seen my share in the theaters.
I know you have a great following, and are well read by others.
Keep up the good work, you are a rare breed in YOUR industry…. LOL
Don’t ever get discouraged… you do good work for the many.
That’s christian work in anybody’s eyes….
I don’t know if I’m doing the lords work, but I hope I’m making a few people slightly happier. That’s all I can ask.
Helping people be happier…. Neccesitating peoples’ further enjoyment of life…. that IS the Lord’s work
Love the site and I hope everything works out for you!
Thank you my friend.
Sorry to hear you had this issue Mat. Your time and effort is always appreciated but of course there’s always a bump in the road here and there. I appreciate your efforts to stay in the game and look forward to hearing your plan.
Thank you my friend.
Hey, Mat –
I feel like I’ve said this before when you’ve had to change things, but just do whatever you have to do and we will adapt to it. I just hope this type of thing doesn’t discourage you enough to make you feel like it’s not worth it. It would certainly be a big loss if you decided to close up shop.
“All you can do is do what you must.” – B. Dylan – “Buckets of Rain”
Thank you. In the past I’ve thought about giving it up and I almost did once or twice. But I always come back.
I don’t think I know how to stop doing what I’m doing 😉
Has the person involved with Richie Havens’ estate also threatened Youtubers uploading his performances? Hmmm.
He was not exactly generating a huge revenue when he was alive (more than 10 years since). Acts like Little Feat have for decades allowed their gigs to be recorded and shared… because it puts bums on seats from new and old fans. Revenue from hard copies of their music has long since fallen behind concert tickets. If RH was alive, I suspect he would have taken the decision to realise the value of such recordings. Is it more than coincidence that any revenue from tickets is approximately nil?
Whatever you’re doing to feel safe and continue all your great work is the best. I only recently discovered your site but I have found so much pleasure in listening to the great music you make available to us. It is just amazing to me that you are out there doing all this for the love of music. All the best from the UK.