Thomas D. Cox, Jr. wrote:
so here's whats really interesting to me. i know how the economics
of pressing records works, it usually requires selling a pretty
large amount of records before you break even, and thats even when
youre using tracks that you arent paying the artist for. since
these guys need to pay for the mastering and plating and sh*t, are
they really making much if any money? and if youre bootlegging and
not making money, is that as "criminal"? especially if youre going
to the lengths that HTFR (if theyre definitely the ones at fault
here..) and having color sleeves and whatnot made, you really cant
be making too much profit.
well, let's take a look at it from a purely economic perspective.
investors (here bootleggers) will base their investment on the likelyhood of
return of their investment, or the possible size of the profit.
regarding the bootleg of records a couple of factors are relevant:
- mastering and pressing of records is expensive;
- in general sales of records is going down-hill.
i think it is therefore safe to say that the profit margin on these bootlegs
is huge. so yes, bootlegging is a crime. the only reason they can get away
with it is because the costs of litigation are too high for the
artists/labels getting bootlegged.
now to the bootleggers that do that little extra to make the records look
real...
the bootlegs are still easily recognisable, as they are still new as opposed
to those records that were released 10, 20 or 30 years ago. but all they do
is look the same, the sound quality on most is horrible! so in a year or two
you'll be digging through the second-hand bins and come across a copy of
relics for $10! woohoo, you spend your hard earned cash on the record, take
it home, and find out it is the bootleg, they sounds terrible. i have
allready bought that panic in detroit lp that way. and believe me, you feel
pretty bad if you've decided not to buy the bootleg because a) you oppose to
bootlegging , and b) you've heard reliable reports that the soundquality
suques, and then end up with a bootleg, because it looks just like the real
deal.
jurren
