Can,t find your favorite R&B soul stars on video? Looking for live unreleased video concerts? Then you are not alone; There are many fans clamoring for video concerts from the 60s, 70s, 80s & 90s by their favorite artists.

Unfortunately except for "oldies shows", it is very hard to find concert footage of many artists in their prime, either upcoming, or at the height of their career. Many simply aren,t available at the local music or video store.

I started inquiring about obtaining music video a few years before the internet boom hit. I wrote letters to my favorite artists, management agencies, hoping to get information. I would regularly browse video stores such as BLOCKBUSTER and smaller mom and pop stores as well in search of my proving to be elusive quarry.

It became daunting at times as I was told, "its not commercially available", or "you won’t find it anywhere". I just became more and more determined to find what I was looking for, no matter what it took. A turning point came when one day I ran across two magazines that really changed thing around for me.

"GUITAR " AND "DISCOVERIES" magazines, I found out as I browsed through, had ads devoted to rare music concert video. My EUREKA moment had arrived! It didn’t matter much to me that some of the footage was not A-1 quality, just the fact that I finally began to accomplish my goal of building my video collection was enough for me.

Fast-forward 20+ years later; I have quite an extensive collection of rare music concerts and clips that I am very proud of and enjoy showing off. Things have changed from so long ago with the DVD market and home theater. Each year there are many new music video releases that hit the market consisting of early footage and classic shows, with digitally remastered picture and sound.


So if you want to look for video footage of your favorite artist or group and stymied as how to go about it, here’s some tips you can use to help find rare music videos:


Step 1: There are many websites that are devoted to rare music video that are not commercially available such as;

www.Midnight To Six.rarevideo.com
www.Dvds To Trade.com.uk
www.greatest-JamesBrown-video tradinglist.com
www.blackdvds4u.com
www.shoutfactory.com

These are just a few of many websites that have not only rare concert footage but TV appearances, and early music compilations. Many CD and vinyl websites also offer rare music video and film footage.

Step 2. Check out online auction sites such as Amazon.com, Craigslist, Epier.com and Ebay. Check your local paper for upcoming soul music "oldies" and entertainment shows Many have music video memorabilia for sale.


Step 3. Yards sales are sometimes a source for finding that rare video you are looking for as well as independent record stores. Even storage auctions, although a long shot, can yield a treasure trove for the video collector. One way to bypass spending your hard earned money on a storage auction (unless you know it contains what you are looking for) is to get to know some of the winning auction bidders. Some make a living out of reselling the storage contents and can notify you if they find any video tape or DVD.

Step 4. A lot of music video footage is available for viewing on YouTube and there are also music message boards frequented by private collectors and fans that are willing to trade tapes and DVDS. Contact your favorite artist are their booking agency. Chances are they can let you know where certain rare video can be obtained. Case in point; R&B star Millie Jackson’s website www.weirdwreckurds.com has a store where you can purchase "Millie Jackson Live at the Junction" as well as her filmed stage play, "Older Woman, Younger Man".

So try the methods above if you are serious, or just looking for that one rare show.
I guarantee sooner or later you will find it. Best of luck!