Wow, just saw the thread and i have to say this: I did buy both DVD and double CD from big stores in Athens, and even though i had strong indications and suspicions that this was not completely official, i had to buy it. Let's face it, after countless hours of listening to poor recordings and watching hazy videos, this was a quality package, even as a bootleg. I would buy it anyway, to tell you the truth, but that is not the fan speaking, but the collector. The other truth is that I do believe that some things are for too few people to be commercial viable. Who would want 300 versions of Brothers in arms song? Don't be hasty to raise your arms, your vote is already considered. Well i would too, but i would never have the time and nerves to listen to all of them and to grade them and decide which one i prefer. It is a nightmare. So if you think of it logically, what's the use of having it if you never listen to it? But collectors are not rational! And for the radical thinkers, you have Christopher Small saying that recorded music harms the musical experience. And Todd Rundgren actually suggesting that the only way for new artist to live from their music, is not to legally chase the bootleggers but by PLAYING LIVE GIGS. Now we are on the verge of a new way of thinking. The younger generation will certainly see the world from a different ankle. If I say vinyl and a 30 years old says WHAT?, imagine a 5 year old saying the same thing about CDs in 10 years time. But back to the topic: if you break down the ownership and royalties pyramid behind each song, you wouldn't know from whom to hide. Record companies, royalties collectors, composers, performers, producers, etc. The sense of legal, logical and right to do, should always go hand in hand. Here we can deal with the logical part, but not with the rest. It is like an empty- abandoned house that you get in. You don't bother anybody, but the owner can have the police arrest you for trespassing. You can't see logic from his side, but it doesn't matter since he has the law on his side (pan intended) . Have you ever considered what you pay for when you buy a CD or record? I have ten versions of the every DS record and i paid for each and everyone of them, more than the value of the vinyl, plastic or aluminum. The "license" to listen to the songs is always limited to me, so in that sense i am crazy, since I bought this license ten times. Would you buy the same song from itunes ten times? The answer to this is easy, No you wouldn't but you recognize that the reason i bought there records are the slight differences in the cover art. So we step into the collector's world with other laws and logic. But at the same time this is the answer to the dilemma of bootleg recordings. You can have rules, but one set for each world, never mixing them up. You can even set your own rules but it makes no difference, since you are just the last wheel, always right and always outlawed. Having a bootleg recording on CD or downloaded is equally illegal. They don't allow you to have it, they just tolerate it and it's on their discretion to revoke this "tolerance".
As for the "ethical"dilemma" of people profiteering from somebody else's bootleg recording, i believe it is not an issue. First of all because the market is way too limited to make a profit, so it is fan based therefore money go just to cover expenses. And you get something solid and sometimes beautiful, better from the official releases. Bootleg companies are relatively short lived for one reason: to make some profit you have to release many recordings from many artists. Thus increasing the possibilities that one of them will come after you and close you down. Secondly because the choice is always yours, not to buy. You can't fall into temptation if it doesn't exist, but true characters are the ones that deal with the temptation. The others are like the stickers on records "Parental advisory...". A hole in the water. (a Greek proverb). Third you can't be asking for ethical rules among bootleggers, even if the driving force is money.Especially if it is money.But if they are collectors it may be even worse. Have you ever read the Antigua stamp by Robert Graves? A collector is a peculiar creature. Collecting is the art of adding value to things that normally don't have any. And since value is added only when many more others are after the same things, then you can guess where we are going. An original silver bootleg has a high priced, when an exact copy (CDR) has none.What are you buying the recording or the medium that we call record or CD?
Anyway to conclude in a lighter tone: I was reading the book "vinyl junkies" (an exquisite read) and he was describing the following situation. A man going to a record annual fair with a few records to sell:Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Boston and so on. These records have sold by the truckload, so when the shopkeepers see them they burst out laughing and usually refuse to buy them at all. When they do buy them, they usually offer 10 cents a piece, which is ridiculous when you consider how much you have paid for them in the first place. But the ridiculous is yet to come. Go again, after a while to the same vendors and ask if they have the same records for sale. Most of them will quickly shuffle through their stock and give you the record. The price will be several dollars! Dare to ask them why and they will give you the usual good cop "it is in mind condition/promo copy/rare printing/has the singers fingerprints-sweat-saliva on it/the guitarist breathed on it and the drummer looked to the direction of the very copy you hold" and the bad cop "don't waste my time, take it or leave it, you don't know the expenses/trouble/sacrifices etc." It is always like that. Go figure!
