Alright, everyone who watches bootlegs on YouTube needs to listen up:
I am not against bootlegs, I know they are illegal and disrespectful to the actors, but I also understand the frustration people have when they cannot afford to go to New York and pay $100+ for a ticket, or they want to watch it over and over again. I get it and I watch them all the time
However there is a major problem happening on YouTube with bootlegs, and I feel like a lot of people do not know about it, and therefore it is not exactly your fault, but people need to know about this. I am talking about leaking. When a master records a show, they list the video info on their trading website. However it is almost always accompanied with the words “not for trade” or “NFT” until... (date) this means the video will not be traded out by them to anyone until that specified date, typically several months after the video was recorded. This is to mainly avoid detection, as videos that are spread around early can be traced back to that person easier and get them in trouble.
When one of these NFT videos gets leaked and posted on YouTube, not only is it incredibly disrespectful to the master, who risked getting kicked out of the theatre so we all could later enjoy the show for ourselves for free, but it runs the risk of getting them in trouble. When a bootleg is posted onto YouTube it is immediately shared with thousands, many download it and share it further, or repost it, so it will never be able to be contained. And it has happened where many masters stop recording shows because their videos keep getting leaked early.
I understand the feeling of wanting to see a show so so badly, and I understand the frustration of not being able to see it live. But we have to be respectful of the one rule the master clearly listed, or we run the risk of causing them to stop recording future shows.
I am writing this because I just now saw a video of a show I will not say, that I remember seeing on the masters website as being NFT until July 15. Which made me very mad because while I agree it is very close to that date, it was still leaked. This particular master allows you to buy bootlegs that are NFT early for $20 a video. But they still clearly stress you are not allowed to share it to anybody! So by leaking it you are essentially stealing from them. Many masters do not do this however and their videos still get leaked. If you ever see a video of a show that was obviously taken very recently based on the show itself or the particular cast, it was likely leaked. I did pay the $20 to get the show early and there have been so many times where I have been talking to people online who love the show, and would kill to have a video of it, and I feel like a bad person from keeping it from them, but it is not my right to share it.
So I am asking you to please please report these leaked videos, and never post them on YouTube or any other social media platform yourself. And also please share this so other people know. I know it makes so many people so so happy to be able to watch a show they love, but you need to follow the rules so we can have more videos in the future.
I do not mean to come off as accusing, this stuff just always makes me mad and many of the people, I’ve found, who have these channels dedicated to posting bootleg or clips, many of them before the NFT date, are pretty awful and very disrespectful to any polite requests to take it down. So I just wanted to educate you so you are aware of the leaking that is happening and don’t contribute to it yourself. Thank you
