Most of the music piracy in China, Eastern Europe and Russia involves the illegal duplication of music from legitimate CDs. By filling this niche market, Western bootleggers have won tacit support from fans of artists such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Bob Dylan or Nirvana.
Music pirates in eastern Europe typically copy legitimate albums outright.
These two discs are Bulgarian pirate compilations. That's because bootleg labels with names such as Yellow Dog, Swinging Pig, Document and VigOtone are offering music fans an alternative view of their favorite groups. They circulate rare recordings that the legitimate record labels often deem as inferior and unworthy for commercial release. Legal loopholes in countries such as Italy and Germany have helped Western bootleggers by providing sanctuary from prosecution. Italian authors' society legitimized Italian bootleggers Until the middle of last year, the Italian authors' society gave a stamp of legitimacy to bootleggers by licensing their products.