David wrote:
 
>i think bootlegging IS a serious problem, and is part of what drives
>up the cost of CDs for us, the fans.  A lot of the bootlegs they were
>talking about in the article were cheap knockoffs of actual CDs
>illegally made in China.  Not only is the fan getting an inferior
>product, but the record companies lose millions.
 
David,
 
        What you describe here is called pirating.  This is not bootlegging.
Bootlegs are live shows or material that has not been released by the record
company.  Pirating as you describe is a real problem in terms of lost
royalties.  Pirates should serve jail sentences of 25 years or more as they
are stealing from the artist.  Bootleggers I feel do a service to fans as
they release things that would never see the light of day otherwise.  I
remember only one instance when a record company actually released a real LP
that was originally a bootleg and that was Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes.  The
companies, in my opinion rip off the public enough by charging WAY too much
for CD and they complain about bootlegs which they could give a shit about
releasing the actual music of.  25 years in jail for giving fans what they
would never get seems ridiculous, IMO.
 
Bill