Bootlegging / Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society (PDF)

'Bootlegging is a smart, provocative and highly readable analysis of the high theory and low practices of music copyright and its transgressors. It is most refreshing to read a sociological analysis of a topic usually left to lawyers and industry apologists. An essential book for anyone who wants to understand the contemporary music industry'

Simon Frith - Professor of Film and Media Studies, University of Stirling.

Bootlegs - live concert recordings or studio outtakes reproduced without the permission of the rights holder - hold a prominent position in the pantheon of popular music. They are also much misrepresented and this fascinating book constitutes the first full length academic treatment of the subject.

By examining the centrality of Romantic authorship to both copyright and the music industry, the author highlights the mutual dependence of capitalism and Romanticism, which situates the individual as the key creative force while challenging the commodification of art and self.

Marshall reveals how the desire for bootlegs is driven by the same ideals of authenticity employed by the legitimate industry in its copyright rhetoric and practice and demonstrates how bootlegs exist as an antagonistic but necessary component of an industry that does much to prevent them.

This book will be of great interest to researchers and students in the sociology of culture, social theory, cultural studies and law.