Grateful Dead fan-recordings may return to the Internet Archive, following disavowals by surviving band members of the threats that caused them to be taken down. Last week, I blogged about how the Internet Archive had taken down their repository of fan-recordings of Grateful Dead shows after a set-to with one of Jerry Garcia's widows, and Xeni followed up with a saddened statement from GD lyricist John Perry Barlow.
Now there's an open letter from Phil Lesh, former bassist for the band endorsing the Internet Archive's repository, saying "I was not part of this decision making process…I have enjoyed using Archive.org and found it invaluable during the writing of my book."
A spokesman for the Grateful Dead has attributed the takedown of the recordings to a "communications SNAFU" and promised that they would be reinstated shortly: "It is my understanding that by the end of the day, the audience tapes will be restored to archive.org"
Link to article, Link to Lesh letter
(Thanks, Breon and Dan!)
