Original_To:  ALLM
Original_cc:  OLIVOTTO
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 1993 10:45:00 N
From:         "Out,
              out - you'll not feel the fall-out..." <OLIVOTTO@ITNCISCA.BITNET>
Subject:      Tape dubbing aethics (WAS: LW listened to PG)

>Date: 08 Jan 1993 13:37:01 -0600 (CST)
>From: Leonard Watkins <ISTS024@UABDPO.BITNET>
>Subject: LW listened to PG
>
>Do you sometimes feel guilty when you copy something, like your ripping off
>the artists, keeping them from some of their royalties. If someone was copying
>your stuff without paying for it, would it bother you. To be honest it kinda
>bothers me sometimes, especially artists that need support. How do you feel.?

        The past strikes back... there was a discussion about this more or less
a year ago. My position was firm on the "don't dub" side then. It still is, but
in a different way. Lemme explain.
        The point is that the problem is complicated: there is a deep differen-
ce (not only in the music style :) ) between a band like TNR (me!) issuing a CD
out of their own pockets and, say, Pink Floyd. If someone dubs my CD, it's a
personal loss for me, and it's a *total* loss (no mechanicals, no income from
a possible sale); if someone dubs Pink Floyd the loss is different, since they
usually receive enormous advances from their record label, and so the ultimate
damage is really done to the label (not a bad idea, corporate rock still sucks
90% of the time) rather than the band.
        But at the same time, speaking -- so to say -- of the non-commercial
sense of the thing, I don't care that much. Advertisement is as important as
gain, in this field, and I had an interesting discussion about this with our
own Michelle May, now not on this list anymore, who "confessed" she wanted a
copy of our album on tape rather than purchasing the CD, and somebody talked
her out of this -- so she wrote and apologised. I wasn't upset about it, in
a sense, since I am curiously (and wierdly) torn between the idea that one
more copy, even if non-official, might possibly help us somehow indirectly,
and the need to recoup the production money.
        My personal position is: I never dub or accept dubs for any reason ex-
cept when:

1) the album/song is impossible to find otherwise;
2) I am definitely sure there is no profit whatsoever in the tape trade
   (tape swapping OK; tape sale at raw tape cost OK; tape sale with gain NOT
   OK);
3) there is an ALLMUSIC compilation around :).

        Needless to say I am totally against unofficial releases which are
produced at low cost by some guy and are sold for-fans-only with 500% gain.
The only serious bootleg I own is that of TNR, which we made from master ta-
pes of "The Chessboard" and distributed *freely* (is this coherence or foo-
lishness?) in 100 and only 100 copies. Well, almost, I have some bootlegs.
But when I dubbed a tape (20 copies) of a Peter Hammill concert I had recor-
ded in Munchen I sent the man some money to cover copyrights. Call me what
you want, I thought it was just sensible. And, of course, I made no money
out of it. :)

        Ciao, Marco

P.S.: FYI: the first version of "The Chessboard" on cassette, released in 1991,
      had *at least* 30 non-official copies around. I know or I have gotten in
      touch with that many people owning it, but they weren't in my sales list.
      That cassette actually sold 200, so at least 15% of it were dubbed. I am
      afraid that 40% is a not-too-crazy percentage, though. So life goes...
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