Internet Bootlegs May Crimp Concert Experience

Fans at the Tibetan Freedom Concert at Washington’s Robert F. Kennedy Stadium on June 13 and 14 could be in for a major treat. Both R.E.M. and the Beastie Boys, with albums coming in the near future, will have new material they’ll want to preview.

But if they don’t hear anything new from R.E.M., disappointed fans can blame the Internet.

It’s almost a certainty that within days--if not hours--illicit recordings of whatever is performed that weekend will be posted on the Internet for anyone with a computer audio hookup to download.

That’s not going to stop the Beastie Boys, who, a spokeswoman says, plan to ignore the potential undermining of the official album release scheduled for July. They have no problem with fans getting Internet access to the new songs a month early.

Though representatives of R.E.M. declined to comment, sources close to the band report that such bootlegging is of great concern, and the band is wrestling with the dilemma. The group isn’t alone: It’s an issue that many artists and managers are becoming increasingly concerned about as technological advances bring transmission and reproduction of audio via the Internet closer and closer to top-notch quality.

It’s taking a lot of fun out of rock ‘n’ roll, they say.

“Something you do innocently, just for fun, winds up biting your ass, so why would anyone want to do it?” says Cliff Burnstein, who co-manages Madonna, the Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica and Hole.

The matter involves both the unauthorized distribution of inferior performances as well as the possibility that radio stations could play material taken from the Internet and “scoop” the intended release of the recording.

“With a band like R.E.M., why would they want to delight their fans when it could make so many problems,” Burnstein says. “Let’s face it--the amount of control we have as managers and artists over our work is decreasing by the day.”

In January, Burnstein’s client Billy Corgan, leader of the Smashing Pumpkins, did a “surprise” acoustic set at the Viper Room in West Hollywood to try out material he was working on for the band’s new album “Adore,” which will be released June 2. Someone at the show sneaked a tape out, and soon the material, in rough, often unfinished versions, was on the Internet.

“He just wanted to play them, see how they felt, look into people’s faces and see the reaction,” Burnstein says.

Of course, bootlegging has gone on since the invention of recording equipment, and it boomed in the ‘60s with miniaturization and growing audience demand. But the Internet makes the distribution of such material so easy, pervasive and virtually instantaneous that it has upped the stakes.

“Performing new material live gets touchy now,” says Ron Stone, president of Gold Mountain management, whose clients include the Beastie Boys along with Bonnie Raitt, the Foo Fighters and Tracy Chapman. “You don’t want your artist represented in anything but the most controlled circumstances.

“Most artists, including mine, find it disconcerting to have less than the best out there,” Stone says. “But as a fan, I still buy Bob Dylan [bootlegs] from the ‘60s. As a manager, I’m opposed to it on all levels. But as a fan, I’m guilty.”

SCARY MONSTERS

The Dodgers hope their new lineup will have the team playing well into the October post-season, but another team’s old lineup has designs on Dodger Stadium on the final day of that month.

KISS has asked stadium officials to put a tentative hold on Oct. 31 for a Halloween concert that will likely kick off a tour following up the 1996 reunion of the costumed band’s classic roster, with founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley rejoined by Ace Frehley and Peter Criss for the first time since 1980. That quartet has just finished its first album in 18 years with producer Bruce Fairbairn, which is scheduled for September release.

KISS’ management would not confirm the plans, but word is there is talk of Fox, the new owners of the Dodgers and the stadium, televising the event as a Halloween special.

One tip: Don’t go dressed as Mike Piazza.--S.H.

BAUHAUS IN YOUR HOUSE

It may not be as big as the KISS reunion was, but it’s huge news for Goth-rock fans and lovers of early electronica--the English band Bauhaus is reuniting for its first concerts in 15 years, launching a U.S. tour with shows July 10 and 11 at the Hollywood Palladium.

Singer Peter Murphy, who has had some success on his own, is rejoining David J, Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins, who continued together for the past decade as Love & Rockets, as a young generation of fans is discovering the band and such new stars as Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson claim it as a big influence.

“I’ve been bumping into a lot of young fans, 15 or 16, who know me from Bauhaus rather than Love & Rockets,” says J. “That’s the big encouraging factor for the reunion, that we won’t be playing just to the people who came to see us originally, but kids of that younger age--which is a bit daunting.

“The big thing is the cultural climate at the moment, with bands like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson providing the platform for us to step up, as it were,” he says.

Meanwhile, Love & Rockets has finished a new album, which will be released in the fall. In a nod to the electronica connections, several club-only singles will be released before the album, with remixes by such techno figures as DJ Keoki, KMFDM and Mood to Swing.--S.H.