Dodgy CD quandary

[mikey]

I distinctly object to illegal copying of music, films etc.  Not talking about running off a quick copy for a friend or family member to listen to but the sale in pubs and markets of illegal copies (and quite obviously not the official merchandise).  Ok, you could say the artists and the industry are making shedloads of money but it is still theft of intellectual property.  Some years ago, I even tried to raise this with Monmouthshire Trading Standards as there was a regular market stall at Chepstow Sunday market selling dodgy DVDs an£ CDs (I don’t know if it was ever followed up, I suspect not as who is going to inspect markets on a Sunday morning?).

anyway, my quandary today came from seeing a pink floyd another brick tour, live in concert on CD.  It was obviously a fake (typical photocopied sleeve, copied label glued to the CD itself) but was on sale in the British Heart Charity Shop.  I had thought of pointing this out to the young lad serving, saying they shouldn’t really be selling on an illegal copy.  On the other hand, it is for charity, and would the staff really understand why this is so important.  Alternatively, is it really worth fussing about?

What do others think?

[beef]

I understand your concern mikey, but in the grand scheme of people ripping off other people it's not much... everyday capitalism commits far worse crimes. Maybe the damage to the reputation of the shop for selling pirated crap would be the worst bit of this.

I used to go to record fairs a lot, where bootlegs were all part of the fun. One time I picked up what looked to be a Real World compilation of obscure Peter Gabriel odds and ends. I had my doubts, but it was very well put together and the RW design details made it appear genuine. This was pre-smart phone, so no chance to do some instant research - just take it or leave it. So I took it, thinking I'd found something unusual - which given the way PG "releases" stuff, was plausible. I got it home and put it on the stereo - some of it was ok, some sounded terrible and I knew that this was not a genuine release. I emailed Real World who confirmed and asked if I had any info on who I'd bought it from. Of course I didn't, and so that was that. Now even illegal downloads are more-or-less history and we're in the era of ridiculously cheap streaming services, questions about bootlegging are almost irrelevant, I would guess.

[Zenrider]

That can be a difficult decision. There is no right or wrong answer. It's not your job to police markets or resale shops. Especially, if you are worried the person you are confronting may get upset.

Perhaps asking if there is a manager around you could talk to and bringing the illicit CD to their attention would not be a bad idea. "Did you know this CD is an illegal bootleg?" If there is no manager available, you may pose the same question to the clerk, suggesting putting it in the back and discussing it with the manager.

It's quite possible the CD was a donated item and they put no thought into whether it was a valid recording.

[beef]

What I meant to say is that unless I'm being deliberately duped (as with the "Real World" cd I mentioned above), I don't mind taking a chance on a bootleg - most often they're filling in gaps with material that fans want but isn't available officially - I don't know enough about Pink Floyd's releases to know, but someone like PG is a classic example of having a perverse reluctance to release "missing" stuff. I reckon about a third of my PG collection is bootlegged, and it's mostly interesting stuff.

[sc]

It’s all very grey. A straight copy of an official CD is one type and possibly most distasteful, but can be justified along the lines of “why should the poor be denied music?” However, when I was in my late teens early 20’s a very good friend of mine traded in a very small scale in Bootlegs. None of the tapes he bought or sold (they were all tapes) were of official albums but rather studio work cobbled together from rejected studio edits or recordings of live gigs. None of these 2nd type “took” money from the artist but rather made additional money on the back of the artist by releasing stuff the artist hadn’t. I am sure, many mainstream artists have taken successful bootlegs and released them as official albums. These 2nd style of bootlegs adds to the rich tapestry of music, freeing it from the constraints, trends and fashions of the management controlling the music industry 😀