If last week's poll is any indication, bootleg trading as we know it is almost a thing of the past. Only about 6% of the people who voted named "Trading" as their primary method of obtaining bootlegs. That doesn't mean more people don't do it once in a while, but I don't think you need to go back more than 3-4 years before it would have ranked near the top. Of course, there's not really anything surprising about this development. More and more people get broadband connections, and more and more bootlegs become available for download, so the fact that almost 50% use bittorrent, binary newsgroups or other download sources to get their hands on Bruce live recordings, shouldn't come as a shock.

If there is a surprise in the poll it may be that a total of 25% still choose to pay money for bootlegs to online stores or old-fashioned record stores. There is of course something to be said for professionally produced discs with artwork that didn't come from your own $30 inkjet printer, but considering that all of this music is readibly available for free, the number seems high, at least to this observer.

If you collect Springsteen bootlegs, how do you usually obtain them?

I download them myself	49.4%
I buy them from online sellers	14.1%
I buy them in CD stores or at record fairs	11.8%
People give them to me for free or for the cost of the discs	10.3%
I trade with other fans	5.9%
Something else	5.7%
I use trees and vines on online communities	2.8%

This week the poll is about Bruce's political songs. I've made a selection that you can choose from, but defining a political song is difficult, and there may be several other songs you would have liked to vote for instead. That's how it is. Happy voting!