Connells Tape Tree Announcement:
 
Finally, you waited for it...here it is:  the call for people who want to
participate in a tape tree. The tapes are:  11-20-88 The Brewery, Raleigh, NC
and 11/11/88 Max's, Baltimore, MD If you are interested in being a leaf
(someone who trades for a copy) or a branch (someone who makes tapes for
others) let me know.  If you have already contacted me, you do not have to do
so again.  You have until March 13 at 11:00pm to contact me.  After that time
I will assemble the tree.
 
Big thanks to Jay for making the tree possible!!
 
Some rules:  Under no circumstances should you charge for the tape, that is,
to be sold as a commercial venture of any kind.  If I hear of anyone who is
selling the tape for profit or selling it to someone to dub for profit...the
trading is over.   Be nice and patient with one another, this takes some time
and negotiation to get going.  If there are any problems, let me know.
A number of you have asked what a tape tree is and how it works.  Here is
another description and some information on how tape trading works:
 
TAPE TREES AND TAPE TRADING
 
   Tape trading is probably the most common means of accumulating boots
   and live shows. Many of the folks on this mailing list are active
   traders so posting that you're interested in trading then taking it to
   email is good way to get started. Another common means of acquiring
   live tapes is the "tape tree".
 
   Trees work like this:
 
     seed  --->    branch   ---->  leaf
            |               ---->  leaf
            |               ---->  leaf
            |               ---->  leaf
            |               ---->  leaf
 
           --->    branch   ---->  leaf
            |               ---->  leaf
            |               ---->  leaf
            |               ---->  leaf
            |               ---->  leaf
            .                 .
            .                 .
            .                 .
 
   Someone provides a seed tape and dubs it for branches who in turn dub
   copies for leaves. All this is done for trades or blanks. The branches
   either arrange a trade with the seed or supply blanks AND return
   postage. In turn, the leaves either arrange a trade with their branch
   or supply blanks AND return postage.
 
Our process:
 
I have started making the seed tapes.  Note that I am volunteering to do
this, it takes time and I work 8 to 12 hour days, so be patient.  I am
charging nothing for the tape itself. None of you should charge for the tape
itself except replacement tapes, although in the etiquette of trading it is
considered more appropriate to send two blank tapes to your branch or seeder
if you have nothing to trade.
 
Here's how the actual trade part works:
 
Each branch trades with the seed for a copy of the seed tape.  And each
branch gets assigned a handful of leaves, whom he or she contacts via
private e-mail.
 
Then everyone involved communicates via private e-mail, trading real-world
addresses and setting up their individual barters.
 
As for the trading, it's all done between individuals; whatever you and
your e-mail contacts decide is up to you; (JUST TO REITERATE) if you have
nothing to trade, in some circles it's considered cool to send two blank
tapes to someone making your tape; or, you trade whatever you and your
contact can mutually agree upon.
 
To keep things sensible, some groups specify a standard tape like a good
high-bias tapes which are available just about anywhere, and can be played on
just about anything.
 
As for postage, mailing tapes first class isn't that costly; the biggest
pain is dealing with the post office; what I've done at times, just as a
courtesy and to keep it simple, is when I mail tapes off to someone I have
the postal clerk weigh out a return padded envelope for whatever's coming
back, and I put that in the package I send.  That way the person on the
other end can just do the dubbing, seal the tape(s) in the envelope and
drop it in a mailbox, saving them the hassle of a post office trip; plus,
I know that my address will be correct on the envelope.
 
The biggest hassles in this sort of thing can come about over gripes about
postage, so it's best to just avoid it.
 
Also, it goes without saying that there's some trust involved, so, as old Bob
Dylan said, "To live outside the law you must be honest."
 
The great benefit of the tree system is that while the seeds and branches
have to make a several copies of a tape, this also puts them into trading
contact with people who may have all sorts of cool stuff in their
collections.
 
So, in the course of making tapes to send downward, you will likely have a
number of tapes flow upward to you; dubbing off a half-dozen or however
many tapes in your spare time isn't that big a deal considering the
immutable karmic laws of bootleg tapes: what you send out into the world
will be returned...
 
-Art
 
Art Jipson
Upham Hall
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
http://www.lib.muohio.edu/~skimmel/jipson/jipsonpage.html
http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~ajjipson