Bootleg CD's

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gregk

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Hey, this is a great topic we should discuss. Someone said to start a new thread, so I did it. I am glad they are finally cracking down on bootleg cds. Why do you think some of the freestyle stars went into other kinds of music, like salsa? They didn't make enough money. How do artists and producers alike get PAID? ...concerts, promotions, and their music on CD! I saw the trend start to go this way about 5 years ago. I am from Chicago and the mixers from B96 started releasing their LICENSED mix tapes. As far as I know, I really think the bootleg cds have hurt the freestyle industry. The same goes for house music. Maybe this is why we are not recognized by the stupid music commission as a formal type of music. I guess it can be classified as a type of dance music, but that's another topic.
What do you guys think?
 
Id just like to say that 'I' believe that Bootleg COPIES of cd's found in stores are more of a threat than MP3's! And I give em THUMBS DOWN!
But at the same time I also believe that DJ's Mixed Cd's ARE NOT hurtful to freestyle...on the contrary...
It helps promote the music! There's been countless songs i've heard on mixed tapes or cd's that i had never heard (and would have never heard if it depended on gettin authorization). As a result i go out and buy the full version.
the DJ is the ULTIMATE promoter!
 
There are bootleg cd's in all types of music, not only freestyle. i dont think that it hurt the industry that much. i remember back in the day when i first starting seeing these bootleg cassettes on 42nd and 8th. i thought "hey....for $3...why not?" I took it home and it sounded like complete shit. they have progressed with the sound with the cds, but the quality is still inferior.
In alot of cases, the artist did not get money on the sales of their cds. many of them got squat for thier sales. just a pat on the back. they depended on a good part of their income on shows they did.
 
Heres my take on this whole issue the freestyle way. Theres just not enough freestyle out in stores for anyone to get. so what do they do? they just go down the street to their local supplier who has it. he not only has it but this person has mixes, several hit songs in usually just one cd which licenced compilations usually dont have and people look for that sort of thing in freestyle. Another thing, people are born with a spoon in their mouth when it comes to finding what they want and not caring whether or not the artist gets paid or not. so i say its the fans fault as much as the people out there in business selling bootleg material. the consumers out there arent stupid because they should know the difference between original and copied material. One thing that inspires the consumer for these attempts are those rare one hit wonder songs that they just cant find anywhere else. and they tried and tried but no luck. they have no choice, they just need to have that single no matter what it takes. In this case theres not so much fault in the consumer. you cant blame 'em. thats when the peeps out there with their table and tapes and CD's come into play, or now, you got people like my man F. doin' mail order. Hey, at least it aint drugs. People bitchin' about their material being copied then do something about it, not just put out a lawsuit on someone. thats not gonna stop the whole entire world from copying your material. Put a block on your record or something. That'll stop troubles from even forming. I dont know you think about it.
 
The best way to take care of this is to get to the people that are making these illegal cd's. Will it be wiped out? Of course not. But we can drive it underground enough that the real cd's stand a chance at selling better numbers. BMG is creating awareness and I'm sure other distribution companies are doing the same. If you want to get involved do this: See a bootlegger, call 1-800-Bad-Beat. This will notify the officials and they will send out an investigator. It takes time to get the guys but they will be gotten. I've seen it happen. I've helped it happen.

Guys that are selling mix cd's are not doing it to promote the music. They are doing it to put some cash in their pockets.

I also disagree with the point that people will buy the bootleg and hear the copy that sounds like crap and want to go buy a real one. I believe the number of people that will do that is very small. A lot of people will either just keep what they have (because they think it's real) or they will be pissed because they already spent X amount on one cd and they're not buying another. We used to get letters sent to us, along with the bootleg cassettes (back in the Profile days), complaining that these cassettes sucked and they wanted a replacement. Not all people are rocket scientists.

I do agree that our retailers need to be set up better and record labels need to A&R their product better but how much new freestyle is good enough that it's something you want to buy and how many times can (or will) you buy the same oldies that aappear and reappear on these albums? The sales numbers that I've seen say that unfortunatley, there isn't much of a market left.

We need to create a demand but again that's a different thread.

As for compilations sucking? Mine don't. Although we have not done a freestyle comp yet we might..... Shameless plug ahead alert....This Tuesday my non-freestyle comp, "Mix Show 1" goes on sale. Totally legit and totally slamming. For more info check out my website, tracklisting under "discography".

Sorry for the length of the rant but I hate seeing people (consumers & artists) getting ripped off.

John Parker
Robbins Entertainment
http://hometown.aol.com/parker1028
 
They will always be with us.

Try as you may, you will never eradicate bootleg releases:
They will always be with us.

It is a fact of life.

- Fernando Benitez from San Diego, CA -
 
Agreed back again it can be driven back underground. It really bugs me when these guys have the nerve to stand out in front of a retail store selling their crap.
 
It works both ways. In my opinion a bootleg cd is when you take a complete song & put it on a cd.
I know pople will disagree with me on this but mixx cd's really do help promote the music. If it wasn't for underground mixx cd's, half the songs that come on a mixx would never be heard any other way. I would buy dj mixxes in the day & run to the record store & ask for the song on record so that I could play it at a club or party. Alot of record labels would send Bad Boy Bill their new releases so that he could put it on his underground mixxes. I for one would have to say that it couldn't hurt them, it only helped them sell more records. So I do not see how it actually hurts the industry.
I will just give you one example & leave it at that. Cesar from Dallas was upset when a couple of deejays here in San Antonio had put his song in their mixx cd's. But after those mixx cd's came out, people wanted the whole song & I for one could keep them in my store. You can ask him if I ordered over 200 of his cd. I ordered 100 the first time & sold out, I had to reorder another 100 cd's. The record store across town had to order 200 cd's. Plus all the other lil shops ordered so many also. That is just here in San Antonio. So you ask him if it hurt his record label & see what he will answer. I for one will be releasing a 12" single within the next couple of months & I openly welcome deejays to put it on their underground mixxes. I know that it will not hurt my record sales at all.
 
MakeYaDance .. good point!! I agree with that cuz when I listen to those mixes, most of the time the DJ will only play like 1min or even less of the song in the mix. And with songs I never heard before, i always go and try to find out what song it is and try to find them. Unfortunately though, there's alot of song played on those underground mixes that are available only on 12" which most often times are out of print or rare. So the only way to get a hold of the complete song is to have the DJ put it on CD for you or something like that. For newer songs that are available for purchase on CD or whatever is a different story than those rare tracks that are available on 12" .. not everyone owns a set of turntables 😉
 
I agree with Make Ya Dance on that one.....
Ekin has a good point too bout the rare stuff too......
 
BOTTOM LINE

Producers Have Hurt Freestyle From Back In The Days And Even Today. Can No Producer Nor Artist Argue With What I Say.
Look At The Producers Today...Alot Are SELLOUTS...And Im Generalizing...Not Speaking Directly Nor Indirectly At Anyone. You Know Who U Are. Freestyle Was Known For Having Different Styles. Like Canadian Style,West Coast Style,East,Florida And So Forth. Now? Its All West Coast Bubble Gum Jump Up In The Air And Rock Neon Green Shirts Music. Come On Man.
Back In The Days Nothing Could Touch Freestyle. 2 Sum It All Up...Freestyle Died Because Of Greedy Producers Who Didn't Know Thier Ass From Thier Elbow. Nor Did They Have The Technology Or Thought Of How 2 Book Keep Everything. It All Gets Technical Into Barcoding And Etc Etc Etc.
And Today? Freestyle Isnt What It Was And Whoever Can Seriously Listen 2 Freestyle Now And Say " Wow I Love New Skool " Ur Lying To Urself.
 
I AM TWO SIDED ON THIS SUBJECT I DO AGREE THAT BOOTLEGS ARE RIPOFFS TO THE ARTIST AND THEIR COMPANIES,AND THAT SUCKS,BUT LIKE ITS BEEN MENTIONED BE4 THAT ON THOSE MIXXES YOU WILL HEAR SOME THING NEW AND THEN GO BUY IT IT JUST DEPENDS ON IF, THEY BUT IT BOOTLEG, OR FROM LIGIT STORES,SOMETIMES YOU CANT FIND THAT ONE OR, FEW SONGS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AND THE STORES SAY THAT THEY WILL HAVE IT IN SOON KEEP TRYING AND THATS BULL THEY NEVER GET IT THEY JUST SAY THAT SO, THAT THEY CAN KEEP YOUR BUSINESS,AND THEN YOU WIND UP WALKING DOWN THE STREET AND AND SEEING A LITTLE TABLE SET UP WITH THAT ONE MIXXED CD THAT HAS THOSE SONGS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR,AND YOU BUY IT! ITS HAPPENED TO ME BUT NEVER WITH FREESTYLE,I HAVE NEVER SEEN A BOOTLEG FREESTYLE C.D. YET JUST RAP AND REGGAE,SO FAR.......SO WHO KNOWS??????
 
Here you go Orgntr1, as a consumer (of which I am) and not as a Record Company CEO (Which I'm not, although I just did get promoted to Director of A&R/Promotion, thank you very much) here's what I would do. First after hear the great new track by Artist X, I would take a trip to my local retailer that is most likely to carry the product. For some reason my guy isn't carrying this title, so I ask him if he can special order it. 9 times out of 10 the retailer will do it. If for whatever reason he feels that he can't get it. I'll order it myself from someone like Mike at Music Factory in NJ. I will find a way to get this record but I will not buy a boot leg of it. That's what I would do.

As for Kenny's "they sell it to stores cheaper" statement, while that's true I believe that you get what you pay for.

Now will somebody please explain to me, how does an artist, writer, producer or record label stay in buisness to make new songs if they don't get paid on the ones they already put out???
I don't believe they can. And that's why I support the Anti-bootlegging measures that my company and others like us are taking.

And in my view, guys that make mix tapes aren't high on the list of people that the RIAA is after at this point. They are really after the guys that are taking albums and copying them.

jp

http://hometown.aol.com/parker1028
 
Parker...U Wanna Know How Us Artists Get Payed? Im Gonna Tell U.......Workin Our 9-5 Jobs...Doing What We Have 2 Do...Freestyle For Me Is Something I Will Never Stop Doing Nor Working With Untill The Day I Die. And Even Then I Will Be In The Heavens Pumpin It. Artists Hardly Get Paied Man. Cuz If U Look At It...Most Freestyle Labels Are Independant. They Have 2 Pay For Pressing,Production,Studio Time,*If They Dont Have A Studio Already * And So Much More Sh*t...And Especially if They Are On A Compilation? Forgetaboutit...Expect Nothing At All 🙄
 
I LOVE BOOTLEG!!! i can get a cd or movie for 5 bucks or 2 for 8 downtown when most people are paying 20 for it!!! its a beautiful thing
 
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