what is an roio?
roio stands for records of illegitimate/indeterminate origin. there are many albums which are labelled as "live", "import", "containing unreleased material", "collector's item", "non-official record" or "rare recording". many people as refer to these as bootlegs, which is the preferred term of most people. this discography will use the term roio instead of bootleg. the database gives potential buyers hints on what to avoid and what to search for.

how do i get roio's?
these pages are not meant as an advertisement for roio's. i do not sell them either nor do i have any connection with people who make or sell roio's. for those interested in obtaining roio's here is a list of some possibilities:

  • small shops...ask for live recordings or imports. look around your city or ask a friend
  • mail order companies. browse through magazines for addresses or try searching the internet
  • directly from the manufacturer. problems being (1) they are often of european origin so you have to pay overseas mail and (2) you may have to own a roio to get more
  • cd/lp record fairs or fan conventions are a great way to shop. one problem, is there one near you?
  • trading. buy privately from someone who is selling their collection.

are there sellers on the internet?
yes, you just have to look hard. here is a list of a few. i personally haven't ordered from these companies but will add comments as i recieve them about the company.

  • isolation tank
  • index the web (tunnel records)
    -Tunnel has an extensive catalog!! However, they may not have it in. Very helpful over phone. Example, I've been waiting for ITF for 3 months, so I picked it up in NYC. Prices are good, better than KTS (even for same disc) -JZ
    -Many people clamied that they are very slow in delivering stuff. They charge from your credit card early and take a whole lot of time to get the RoIOs to you. Fortunately, they deliver at the end, but very slow. - AN
    -I made an order from Tunnel records. They responded quickly and total order time was one month from order to delivery. They also sent the stuff marked as 'commercial sample'. I think i'll do business with them again. -JK
    -So far I've ordered four CDs from Tunnel, and they've done very well by me. They are a bit slow, but they've got by far the best inventory I've yet seen, and their prices are great. On both orders I've made, they were kind enough to ship the disks before they've received payment in full! Unfortunately, their stock seems to be slipping away, as a lot of the disks are becoming unavailable... -- MT

which roio's should i buy/avoid?
legal, live and hard to find recordings:
most people buy roio's of live performances. it is very tempting to get hold of a complete concert instead of the outtakes the music industry offers us. but before you buy your first roio you should look for all normal releases because the sound quality is much better. as you should know, there are currently no regular live recordings of nine inch nails available beyond single songs on things like the woodstock '94 soundtrack.

soundboard recordings:
sometimes a lucky person can link his recorder directly to the soundboard of a concert. this method results in good quality tapes or cd's although the sound tends to be heavy on the bass.

audience recordings:
despite what many people say, audience recordings are generally terrible. imagine someone carrying a cheap portable recorder, sitting in the last row, surrounded by whistling or shouting drunks, inserting a new tape in the middle of songs, hiding the recorder under his jacket, using old batteries and no separate mics. then listen to the fourth generation copy, twiddle with bass and treble, and make a cd. most of the audience recordings sound like this. very few jewels have appeared and they are worth being mentioned here. but, even for those jewels, don't expect sound quality that comes even near to the quality of an official release. you have been warned. if in doubt, check sound quality before buying! nevertheless, many roio's are interesting because of their superb performance and they give you the feeling of being there.

what's the deal with woodstock '94?
because woodstock '94 was such a large cultural event in 1994, a good number of different versions of this show are floating around as live compact discs. all of these took place (obviously) on august 13, 1994 in saugerties, ny.

these roio;s, even given the sound problems, capture one of the more powerful performances at woodstock '94 in the ways the official cd release does not. with many live recordings, the dry recording of the album is the major failing point. this is not a problem with these recordings. even someone who isn't very fond of nin can easily appreciate the fact that reznor sang and played his heart out for the massive crowd that assembled in saugerties, ny, simply by listening to the recording alone. this should be the goal of any live release by a band.

what is out there?
there are a number of items out there and checking the listings is the way to go. since i couldn't find a better place to put this, here is a list of unconfirmed roio's that i am looking for information on. if you have any info on these, please contact me.

  • deconstructions
  • back here again
  • empire of dirt
  • hey pig
  • live in holland
  • sinless
  • swine
  • youth seemingly gone