Friday, December 02, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO — What a short, strange trip it was.
After the Grateful Dead angered some of its biggest fans by asking a nonprofit Web site to halt the free downloading of its concert recordings, the psychedelic jam band changed its mind Wednesday.

Live Music Archive, a site that catalogues content on Web sites, reposted recordings of Grateful Dead concerts for download after the surviving members of the band decided to make them available again.

Band spokesman Dennis McNally said the group was swayed by the backlash from fans, who for decades have freely taped and traded the band's live performances.

"The Grateful Dead remains as it always has — in favor of tape trading," McNally said.

He said the band consented to making audience recordings available for download again, although live recordings made directly from concert soundboards, which are the legal property of the Grateful Dead, should only be made available for listening via live streaming from now on.

The soundboard recordings are "very much part of their legacy, and their rights need to be protected," McNally said.

More from: FoxNews.com

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