Fans of certain music worldwide found this to be the perfect opportunity to spread the word about a certain musical act which they appreciated. Copyright laws were pretty much tossed aside when any tape trading took place, with fans being more occupied on promoting their favorite bands and getting new music to listen to. Even the musicians themselves would usually be a part of this process, sending out tapes of their performances in order to hopefully land a recording contract.
Tape trading for the most part was a ad-hoc system that relied on trust and the honor system. When one would send out a tape, there was no real way to know for sure whether or not they would receive the one they asked for in return. This was prevented to some extent by essentially blackballing anyone who reneged on their part of the deal, sending out notifications and acknowledging them as a rip off trader.
Besides music recordings, tape traders may also distribute posters or flyers that a particular band would have used in order to promote themselves. Even though a recording may have been copyrighted, it would still be rerecorded to a vinyl record, cassette tape, or CD in order to make trading them possible. Although this practice broke several rules, fans saw it as an opportunity to hear new music as well as spread the word about their favorite artists.
The recording of these live events is actually done legally for the most part however, as these tapers will commonly receive the band's permission before doing so. In order to stay within the bounds of the law, the taper cannot sell these recordings, only distribute and trade them with others. Even so, there is a small minority of tapers who will record a concert secretly with the intention of selling the recordings later. These individuals are often referred to as 'stealth tapers.'
While recording a performance using microphones can be an effective way to capture a live performance, bands will sometimes allow a taper to plug directly into the group's sound system. This allows the taper to create a perfect recording that is of the highest quality. These recordings are usually converted into a digital recording format such as FLAC, which can then be transferred to listeners all over the country using file sharing programs such as bit torrent.
In the past, there have been many bootleg recordings which were taped off of rare FM radio broadcasts which would feature live or in-studio performances. For the most part however, these bootleg tapes would be recorded during a live concert with the recording equipment smuggled in without the band or authorities being aware of it. While this is usually not allowed, advancements in technology have made this easier than ever since the 1970s.
Sometimes these bootleg recordings are referred to as ROIOs, or Recording Of Indeterminate Origin. This term is preferred for recordings whose legal status was too difficult or even impossible to determine. This was popular first amongst fans of Pink Floyd recordings in order to differentiate between tapes which were outright illegally produced or counterfeit.
The practice of spreading these bootleg recordings was first popular in the 1960s. In fact, a certain bootleg Bob Dylan record released in 1969 is regarded as being the one of the first. It was released with an all white package and labels and was titled The Great White Wonder. The advent of the Compact Disc made trading these recordings easier than ever and not only were new bootlegs being spread, but the older recordings when the 60s and 70s were reaching new audiences and old fans. Digital recordings made trading easier than ever.