stormspell

New ID tallblndgal

Tall Blonde Gal? I think James is trying to tell us something, or should I say Jamina?

Ok, thanks.

Hey man , I know you aren't gonna believe this but I actually referred a couple of great Bulgarian bands to your label. One is called BTR and is killer Uriah Heep sounding stuff and there's another one too. Can you please PM me so we can talk about it?

 

thanks

Hey man, thanks for the tip.

I actually have been familiar with BTR for the past 20 years. I'm not big fan of their recent releases, but I loved their debut album "Bending the Rules" from early 90es which was fantastic slab of true Euro steel. I wanted to re-release it, but unfortunately there are legal issues due to some ex-members which wrote substantial part of that album and are not part of the band anymore, so it was not ment to be.

BTR currently got a US manager which sold the rights for a CD compilation called "SALVATION" to some Californian label called JetSpeed Records. Unfortunately for them the whole affair turned out to be a fluke - the label released duplicated cdr product without notice and any promotion and the manager sued the label. I'm not familiar what the outcome was as I havent spoken to the manager recently, but I see they sell the "Salvation" on their own website (www.btrus.com), so I guess they acquired part of the pressing at least.

If you need any info on Bulgarian bands, dont hesitate to PM me and I'll help you out with whatever info I can.

Cheers

Icon – An Even More Perfect Union CD

 

1995/Epilogue. 17 tracks (includes 3 bonus), this is the 1st pressing, # 2132 and is autographed by Dan Wexler. Vocals are performed by Jerry Harrison (Harlequin). Here is finally your chance to complete your Icon collection.

 

 

 

It's been awhile since I've sold on Ebay, but I believe you can make the bidders anonymous. I may be wrong? I'll have to ask T-Bone, I've never been wrong before.

 

...Tim

Actually it is explained there in the info box on top, all you have to do is read it

"To help keep the eBay community safe, enhance bidder privacy, and protect our members from fraudulent emails (such as fake second chance offers), eBay has changed how bid history information is displayed. If you place a bid on a higher-priced item, only you and the seller of the item can view your User ID in the bid history. Other members can no longer view User IDs and will see anonymous names, such as Bidder 1. "

Just wondering what happened with this one.....

 

Especially since Nancy is again a seller on Ebay....

Again with the old account? Incredible...

Its a easy fix - Musicans go after these guys PERIOD!. This will solve the problem. This brings me back to this Lonnie Scam. Like most these artists you complain but you didnt follow through. Yes you did the FBI thing, Postal Fruad, Called the Police department, ect. Then I hear it isnt worth persuing any further becuase of what? Well do i need to say it! Money. It would cost to much to drive here or court cost, ect. So your basically saying its ok what he did I cant afford to do anything else. BullShit! These guys will never learn unless you follow through! You cant sit back and hope what you have done so far is enough. Same with Musicains

Good idea, but unfortunately only applicable when you know who the fraud party is, have proof, and can go and sue them on the spot. With most bootlegs those things are either unknown, or very hard to prove.

Just assume for a second you are a musician and one day you see your boot on eBay - you buy it and all it says on the back is "Hot Metal records, made in Greece" - how would you proceed suing them? Hire an attorney to find them? The cheapest attorney charges like $50 per hour and we all know he will be coming back at ya after a week with a fat bill in hand telling you there is no such label... what will you do?

There's a reason for everything my friend - you're just going to have to trust me on that.

I'm not arguing with you, just trying to explain why people find it hard to trust you.

Sam, I dont think people have problem with your label and the tons of legit releases you have on it by itself. The problem is that the people know Sam the RR owner is Sam vegascds on eBay. And as far as you keep mixing legit and illegal stuff on eBay they will keep questioning the integrity of your releases. That's for certain and you have either to change it, or to learn to live with it.

Cant you see it?

Wow, excellent 10-page read!

 

One thing the majority of you have missed, or at least not commented on is SOUND QUALITY. I know most metalheads don't care or maybe can't tell if a CD has been compressed and maximized to the point of ear-bleeding levels, but I do and I can.

 

Can of of you bootleggers on this site tell me how you "master" a CD? Do you simply flat transfer from a vinyl source? Probably not, too many clicks and pops.

 

What about from a tape source. Probably not, it's not LOUD enough.

 

Direct CD-R from a CD source? Perhaps if an original CD source is available.

 

In any case, I'd like to know how you do it, because most of the bootlegs I've heard aren't worth owning at any price.

You realize no bootlegger will invest in remastering, especially when planning to make only 100 CDR copies for hit-and-run sales, right? That should answer your question I think.

Oh haha! I was wondering why glockose is misspelling most of the titles with those funky "Ø" instead of "O" and lower case "L" instead of "i"... now I realize he was simply copy/pasting the titles straight from your eBay auctions.

Quite a clever way to avoid being detected by doing a title search, I'll give you that

THE RIGHT TO ROCK was also sold on CD Universe for a short time before they ran out.

 

So a major internet CD company was selling boots?

 

The one now on CD Universe is by Parris Records WTF knows...I give up!!!

 

http://www.cduniverse.com/sresult.asp?styl...etshowimage=off

I'm sure Sam can shed light on this. From what I recall he has stated in the past that Ron never got his royalties from Metal Mayhem, so probably that's why it has been claimed a boot...

I honestly never understood why people always have to compare $15 boots to $500 originals and try to justify buying the first... I'd NEVER buy a CD for $500 for my own colelction, regardless how great the music is - that's for certain, BUT I'd never buy the boot for $15 either! Why? Simply because most of the boots have been made from the very same mp3s plenty of people share for free on soulseek or torrent sites. Why should you pay $15 lining someones pockets when you can donwload the source mp3s for free? Burn the mp3s to an audio CDr if you wish and there you go, the same audio result.

Stormy , I hope you are not suggesting that you pay a band $1 per cd made. Because that would REALLY disappoint me. Whats important to note is that I may do an initial run of 100 cd's but there's always room for pressing more. I just hope to God that you aren't giving a band $1 per cd - that's , well , unacceptable. Tell me I'm wrong.

I offer every band 3 options: barter deal, fixed lump sum in advance, or percentage per sold CD basis.

So far all bands opted for the lump sum. If they take the percentage deal they may make quite more money (or may not, depending how CDs sell). It is their choice, so I dont think anyone should blame me how much I pay - its clearly their choice to decide whether to take the fixed sum upfront, or take the gamble with juicier per sold CD basis.

Oh yeah, and I do the same like glockose - the band retain the copyrights, I only license one-time 1000 CDs pressing and a grace period of one year in which they agree not to relicense it to another label.

Is it fair? I think it is. If the band think its not, they are free to move on and chose another label - open market economy as you say.

I start all auctions at 99 cents - how much more affordable can they f'ing be?

I think the more important question is, for how much do they end... I honeslty think BIN of $11.99 would be much more affordable for many people than trying to win 99 cent auction.

ALL prices are set on the website and are extremely affordable.

I agree with that and you get my kudos for having them at your site for fixed price. But why not make eBay store and have same CDs for the same prices on eBay too? You will sell much more CDs at lower cost than only 100 at higher and the total profit at the end would be the same, if not bigger.

Stormy - you will learn in time that running an indie label is far more complicated than you think and you will need to become a good businessman to deal with 180 bands as RR does.

Actually I'm hoping to avoid that. I hope to keep the passion and the fun of hunting down old bands and making good releases. If I delvelop the label with the business side being my main focus, I fear the passion will be gone and I'll not have the same interest and artistic freedom I enjoy now. As long as the label is self-efficient and can return the investment so I dont have to reach to my pocket for every new release, I'll be a happy camper.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND. One of the top reasons why Retrospect Records has become the world's leader in re-issues. And I guarantee you Stormy that I am paying the artists more than any other label. None of this $5 (or less) per cd crap.

You see, I understand what you mean, and to certain extend I do admire you for the hard work you have been putting up, especially with keeping up with the extensive eBay sales you have week in and week out. Its a very hard job and I dont know how you manage to keep up with it (unless you have a hefty crew working for you).

But then again, if we look at the band royalties, you see, paying $10 per sold CD of 100 units actually equals to paying $1 per 1000 CDs pressed. So in my eyes it is not so much. Besides, I care for the clients too, and want to keep the golden medium so the band gets some money, but the client does not have to pay arm and leg for their CD too. That's my simple filosophy. I pay a small fraction of what you say you pay to your bands, but I pay mine all in advance so the band does not fear I'll rip them off later, and I also cover all expenses on the release (pay for artwork, remastering, layout and design, etc.) - those expenses put together actually cost quite a lot sometimes, and many other small labels require the bands to take care of them. So to me its no really different if someone will pay $4000 to their band, and make them pay $3000 back for new artwork, mastering, design, etc. or if I pay my band only $1000, but fork the $3000 for the expenses out of my own pocket.

P.S. almost forgot: I also give my bands 50 or more free retail-ready CDs for their personal use. Can you afford doing this at 100 units run?

Simple arithmetic I agree. Then why is it some people need to pay the large amount for an original? If it is out of print... wouldn't a CDR copy be just as good?

There are people and people. I personally would never pay more than $20-30 for an OOP CD, tops!. If I want it I get it on CDR and wait till its reissued. Other people wont settle for anything but the original... it is the same with all other collectors really, whether they collect stamps, coins, cars, or whatever... I guess that's why I'm not considered a collector, and other people are. Simply as that.

Hell, I even didnt buy some of SunCity reissues I wanted coz I thought $18 plus shipping is an outrageous price for fresh reissue. I guess I'm very cheap person when it comes to shopping for my personal collection

I have run into many many artists/bands who procrastinate when it comes to re-releasing their old material. Sometimes they need that extra 'push' to realize how important their music is to the fans. When they see a boot of their album going for $100+ on ebay they soon understand THAT money should be theirs. Like I said , it's a simple equation.

This is true, but could be a two-handled sword coz once a band sees their original CD (or boot faking the original) fetch insane prices they assume all 1000 reissue units will sell for $100 each and demand ridiculous fees. So it could be a mighty catalyst, or dreadful inhibition...

And sometimes they come with the ideas such as "okay, lets make handfull of copies and put them one at a time on eBay to maximize the profit" which I personally dont approve. Because for me one of the assets of a good reissue is to be made easily obtainable for everyone at affordable fixed price.

And Stormy , I do like your releases and support what you are doing too but I am going to address this statement

 

"My grief as small indy label: By mass-booting an album it essentially robs the band or some label from the opportunity of investing time and money into proper re-issue. Especially valid for indy bands with limited market."

 

The only way to combat this is to take counter-measures. Sign the band and make a better looking package with bonuses. The Greeks booted my band AXTION but I put a stop to it IMMEDIATELY. Fight fire with fire. Labels like NRR and Shrapnel are missing the boat by ignoring their back catalogs.

I agree in general, but in case with some lesser and obscure bands for which every sold CD would count, by the time you can react the effect could be devastating.

The Greeks make 500 copies of each bootleg, let's say I can stop them from selling on eBay with VeRO, but what about GEMM, musicstack, and all numerous small Mail Orders all over the world that will carry them? Its like poking a water balloon with a needle - you poke one source and it disperse its stock to 10 others...

You know, it takes me quite a long time to get a release out. From the time contacting the band and start negotiating, finding bonuses, remastering, pushing them to write liner notes, commisioning artwork, making booklet design and layout, patches, etc., then manufacturing the product it takes like 6 months even more. It is enough for me to get fully commited to this process and a boot to pop out to take all the fun out of the release... and it is not because of the invested money, but coz you put your soul in it and try to give your best and make the most elaborate release ever and then some goofs steal it from you overnight. I know that when this happens to me I'd rather give up and scrape the project than to fight pointless battles...

NRR would have been a good indicator if one can fight bootlegs with better re-issues. Unfortunately I'm yet to see NRR re-issue which looks better than the boots

Isn't a boot a boot?

What does it matter if it's silver or not?

 

not starting anything, Just asking

Absolutely!

I was just thinking how to organize the list better, tha's all.

LV KIX,

I understand your point. However, I make a difference between a scrounger who finds ONE orignal legit copy of a rare CD in some pawnshop and re-sells it, and a person who counterfeit 100 or 500 and re-sells them all.

Bands getting/not getting their share is very valid point by all means, but far from being the only one.

For instance I'll share my two biggest personal griefs with bootlegs:

1. My grief as customer:

When boots are sold in vague way deceiving people of thinking they are getting something real for their money. As a customer nothing else would piss me off than getting something I did not expect to receive, regardless if I paid $5, or $55. I feel bloody cheated all the same.

2. My grief as small indy label: By mass-booting an album it essentially robs the band or some label from the opportunity of investing time and money into proper re-issue. Especially valid for indy bands with limited market.

 

Your point is very moot simply because by supporting the bootleggers you pour fuel into their engine and they keep ripping off more and more. Go see the never-ending list glockose just posted. I personally know several small labels which were working on some re-issues getting the bands invloved, with liner notes, lyrics, bonuses, etc., but all had to scrape the projects out coz meanwhile the bootlegs popped out and presaturated the market.

 

In short and to the point: legit reissues with fat booklets, bonuses and such aint coming if you support the boots, period!

 

You have got it all wrong Stormy. Sorry.

Maybe, depending from the view point I guess.

From my personal standpoint it looks quite true to me.

I would like to see these cds re-released so that those of us without unlimited finances can enjoy the music which in my opinion is what it's all about. Until this happens I find that I am forced to support those who make boots, I would much prefer that the money went to the bands but that is not the world we live in etc etc...

Your point is very moot simply because by supporting the bootleggers you pour fuel into their engine and they keep ripping off more and more. Go see the never-ending list glockose just posted. I personally know several small labels which were working on some re-issues getting the bands invloved, with liner notes, lyrics, bonuses, etc., but all had to scrape the projects out coz meanwhile the bootlegs popped out and presaturated the market.

In short and to the point: legit reissues with fat booklets, bonuses and such aint coming if you support the boots, period!

Shoot, I just posted an addition in the other thread... Sacred Warrior. OBSESSIONS on the "ERMI Music" label, supposedly out of the Netherlands... turned out to be a CD-R with a cheaply copied "booklet" and tray card

The list glockose posted is with silverpressed boots only.

To avoid confusion maybe it would be better idea to keep lists separated and make another one for CDR kock-offs?

Is there a also a list of known sellers that sell boots?

 

From now on if I'm looking at something rare I'm asking the HH board first or buying from someone here.

I think it would be good idea if Dan fix this topic on top and everyone can come and check the list when in doubt.

He might want to reconsider his buy it now price and jack it up some more. I personaly would use a bidding auction as it'll probably do better sales wise.

I personally would have lowered the price, so everyone interested can go and buy it now at regular retail value. This way you kill instantly all speculators that will buy it from RR site for $13.99 and try to re-sell on eBay for insane $$$.

I wonder when copycats will figure out how to steal my flash jukeboxes. I'd better go and embed watermarks on them asap...

 

or change the mp3 songs to rap

Actually I aready started embedding a SWF animated sequence into the jukebox which looks like this:

Now everyone who wants can steal it, I'd be glad if they do

Sam, here you go.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MASS-New-Birth-CD-1-ch...1QQcmdZViewItem

and here

http://cgi.ebay.com/MASS-NEW-BIRTH-ROCK-ME...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Wow! That first one sold for 82$ and Sam is selling them at the buy it now price of 20$. They copied word for the word the description and also the sound-clips. But it's OK more sales and traffic for R.R., right?

WOW! I wouldnt be really bothered for the description, but stealing someone's mp3 clips, hence their bandwidth is very repulsive behaviour!

I wonder when copycats will figure out how to steal my flash jukeboxes. I'd better go and embed watermarks on them asap...

Well than I probably have a boot then. I really want to know where Sam got these so I can take legal action against those fuckers.

I'm sorry for you eagles, but if your copy lacks the IFPI number the &then reported than your copy is probably the Greek bootleg which came in circulation last year.