About bootlegs, more generally...

[Professor Black]

Why are certain countries (Greece, Brasil) such hotbeds for bootlegging music? Is there something about the copyright laws that make it easier in this country?

Having pressed and released a few CDs (in the USA) over the years, I can say that it would be fairly difficult to mass-produce bootleg copies of an existing album here. The paperwork gets more and more involved with time, and some places even sound-test the masters, looking for unlicensed content. This is because of the strictness of the laws here, somewhat tightened in recent years due to the rights management issues raised by electronic trafficking of music (legal and otherwise.) The person ordering the CDs accepts liability for unlicensed content, but a plant that knowingly presses something illegal could still be liable as well.

Anyway, I have to think that the laws are decidedly different in the places where bootlegs are flowing onto the market so easily. I can't believe that there is some genetic predisposition to this practice within certain nationalities!

I remember in the early/mid 90s, there were a handful of Italian labels who appeared to deal legitimately in audience/soundboard concert recordings made in that country. Labels like Kiss the Stone, etc. Am I mistaken in thinking that making and marketing these releases is/was legal in Italy? Have the laws since changed?

Does anyone share my interest in how variations in copyright law might help explain the disproportionate level of bootlegging activity in certain territories?

[anthares]

Why are certain countries (Greece, Brasil) such hotbeds for bootlegging music? Is there something about the copyright laws that make it easier in this country?

I understand that they just dont give a shit about copyrights for example in Brasil. There is not much control.

[Helm]

Bootlegs don't have to go through any severe legal channels for validation in most countries that they mainly originate from. To the end that this makes bootlegging easier yes, you can say that specific copyright law encourages the phenomenon. But the initial desire to capitalize on something as niche as the collecting habits of Heavy Metal listeners, you have to look to the prime intention of the people doing it. And that is a sociological situation which has to be considered in a broader context than just the legalistic. I don't think it was implied in this board that it is a matter of genetic predisposition, at least not strongly so, but perhaps I don't remember correctly. I still maintain that historical and political effects apply and even account of the lax laws surrounding this area of media reproduction.

[Cochino]

Well, as an inhabitant of a third world country where nobody gives a fuck about copyright I must say that it is mainly because there are bigger problems down here, people don't really give a shit about copyrights so politicians don't do anything about it becasue that doesn't help their image much, they rather do useless anti-drug raids because they buy more "credibility". Here most people buy bootlegged music (and I'm talking about crappy CDRs) because all they care about is getting the stuff cheaper. If someone does an anti-piracy movement and starts closing down every place that sells bootlegs people would be unhappy because they wouldn't be able to watch movies or buy music anymore, so why would some politician bother to do something like that? They take some action a couple of times a year to make it look like they're doing something, but it doesn't go beyond that.
And on a side note, you also have to think about where the money comes from and where the bootlegs are sold. Most of them are made around here because it's cheaper, but sometimes the funds come from overseas.

[metalmaster]

arent there many boots from Italy, Germany, Greece, Poland, Russia, China, even England?? Supposedly more avanced countries...

[ancient tyranny]

arent there many boots from Italy, Germany, Greece, Poland, Russia, China, even England?? Supposedly more avanced countries...

sure, cause it´s no big deal anymore to get some CDs pressed where noone
is asking about any copyright papers and just reimport them to a "first-world" country

[MEXDefenderOfSteel]

Well, as an inhabitant of a third world country where nobody gives a fuck about copyright I must say that it is mainly because there are bigger problems down here, people don't really give a shit about copyrights so politicians don't do anything about it becasue that doesn't help their image much, they rather do useless anti-drug raids because they buy more "credibility". Here most people buy bootlegged music (and I'm talking about crappy CDRs) because all they care about is getting the stuff cheaper. If someone does an anti-piracy movement and starts closing down every place that sells bootlegs people would be unhappy because they wouldn't be able to watch movies or buy music anymore, so why would some politician bother to do something like that? They take some action a couple of times a year to make it look like they're doing something, but it doesn't go beyond that.
And on a side note, you also have to think about where the money comes from and where the bootlegs are sold. Most of them are made around here because it's cheaper, but sometimes the funds come from overseas.

pretty much the same in Mex, people dont care that much about the "artist effort" in releasing its material, so "why should i spend that much money,when i can get the same music at a third part of its original price!"....idk if it happens in europe,but Mexico is the bootleg King!...good thing we r not that great in metal music...but i have to say i have found the whole Pokolgep and Agent Steel discography for just 1 dollar!!!