About the Collection

[chrisw@wwa.com (Chris Williams)]

   Here's my response to an e-mail asking abut the various Tapetrees:

>(I tried to post this to rec.music.gaffa but was given an error message 
so
>I am sending you a private e-mail instead.)

   As that was the original intention, I hope it's OK for me to post
my reply. BTW, you cannot post directly to rec.music.gaffa. It's a
moderated newsgroups, and all posts have to be e-mailed to: 
love-hounds@gryphon.com

>Dear Chris,
>   Since you edited the Love-Hounds Collection perhaps you can tell me a
>little about the history of how these tapes came about. 

   Ok.

>I've been lurking on this list for two years and have dubbed many a 
>copy of these tapes for fellow Love-Hounds but when asked I can only 
>offer a sketchy version of how they came to be.  

  Thanks for dubbing them. That is the primary reason they were created.

>I know that they were created for various Katemas celebrations but 
>I don't know which years (well, the Katetopia video says Katemas '95, 
>so I know about that one) nor do I know if they were ever shown at any 
>Kate Konventions.  

   There have actually been a total of 4 tapes:

   The first collection was a single tape of less than 2 hours, and had
  *major* problems due to a bad dub from 3/4". The less said about this
  tape the better.

   The second two tapes are the first actual "Love Hounds Collection"
  and have everything that was on the first tape. These were distributed
  in time for Katemas 1994. 

   The forth tape is "Kateopia" and exists primarily to get the Fruitopia
  spots out (and the terrifying Japanese clips). I was not involved
  in the creation of this tape, but I am impressed by it and am happy
  it exists.

   Some of this material has been played at the various conventions,
but these tapes were not created for that purpose, nor were these
compliations played. Most of the pre-1984 material was played at
Bush-Con '84 in Winnipeg. Also, some of the stuff played at the
official conventions has never been made available, like the
rest of the Hammersmith show. (Don't ask, I don't have it either.)

>Maybe you've told this story a few times before but it's not in the 
>FAQ or in the Love-Hound history section of GaffaWeb.  

  It's not included because it has never been an "official" part of
Love-Hounds. These tapes are produced by various Love-Hounds, and
distributed by an ad hoc network of Love-Hounds (which everyone who
makes a copy is part of.) 

  One of the intentions of doing it in this way is to "spread the risk".

  Technically, everything on the tapes is a copyright violation. The
current definition of "copyright" seems to be more about the ability
to prevent copying rather than the right to distribute, which seems
very screwy. If no one is going to make it commercially available
(like "Kate - The Christmas Special) after 10 years, it's unlikely
to ever be made available.

  Anyway, none of the stuff on the tapes is currently commercially
available. parts that *are* commercially distributed (Kate's videos)
have been edited out (if you want Kate's videos - *BUY THEM*).

  We took a somewhat more rational approach - preventing harm to Kate;
i.e. making sure that these tapes were not a threat to Kate's career.

>Perhaps it ought to be inlcuded,  along with the answer to the
>newbie question 'What is a Tapetree?' (Umm...and not Rolf's answer to 
>this question though I'm sure the Douglas Adams fans out there prefer
>it).  

   A tapetree functions like this:

   Someone who has been collecting for a long time assembles master
tapes. In the case of the Love-Hounds Collection, from various VHS
and 3/4" source material onto 3/4" master tapes. 

   Top level dub sites get S-VHS copies. There were 12 top level sites
for TLC, including ones in Germany, Australia and the UK.

   Each of the top-level sites make as many copies as they can. At
last count, well over 350 second level copies were distributed.

   The final recipients sent tapes to the top-level (aka "leaf")
dubbers; two tapes in a stamped, self-addressed padded envelope,
inserved inside of another regular envelope.

   The final recipients have a *holy duty* to make copies for
everyone the can. That's the whole reason for the projects
in the first place. (Note: I'm exempt from this - only write
me if you are ready and willing to commit to making at least 5
copies. I'm dubbing a copy for a new leaf site as I write this.)

>A brief explanation about the legalities of making copies of Kate 
>tapes might useful.  

   See above. Technically, it's illegal. Ethically, we've tried our
best to avoid hurting Kate or her career. That's all we can do.
Many fans already had copies of these videos, and we were just 
giving them better copies.

>There have been some questionable offers made to copy commecial
>Kate tapes on this list as of late, so a cautionary note might be
>appropriate to include in the FAQ, unless that in turn makes us 
>liable for other's misdeeds (ah, the joys of our legal system). 

   People how make copies of Kate material that is commercially 
available are hurting Kate's career. That is bad. People who do 
so for money are *really* hurting her career, and commiting a
serious violation of copyright.

   Anyone who *sells* copies of these tapes - by mail-order or
in a store - needs to be black-listed. Another reason for the
tapetree was to remove the profit motive. If Kate isn't making
money from this stuff, no one should.