Adam, I visited Vancouver in 2012 to do some photo and video of Our Lady Peace at the Commodore. I had permission to do so from OLP's management, as well as the band themselves. However, myself and their touring videographer/photographer, and my friend Josh had to sign a legal agreement from Live Nation in regards to what we could record, and what we could do with the recordings and photographs. The Commodore is owned by Live Nation, so they ultimately have the final say. You did the best thing by complying with security, and hopefully that didn't detract from your experience.
Indeed, a huge grey area in the practice. I haven't "stealth" recorded anyone in a few years now. I have found it much better to seek out permission to record and go from there. I have been able to get better positions, and better recordings because of this. Unfortunately, there are too many people who are out to record and sell, and that is a universal case of one bad apple spoiling the bunch. Additionally, some artists just don't want terrible recordings of them out there floating around. Bands are sometimes weird and guarded about their performances.
My stance on the recordings I've made and shared of OLP has always been this, I do it with the intent to give people who might not otherwise be able to enjoy them live for financial, or geographical, or other restricting circumstances, the ability to do so. Like you, it's done for no gain to myself. In fact, it has always been at a financial loss. If that's the spirit that all tapers are going in it with, the world of taping will be much better off. As someone who would have to travel a lot of distance to see Matt, I really appreciate you and Sean getting out and recording these shows and sharing them.
