David wrote:
belle and sebastian may be wavering over the re-issue of tigermilk but they have stated publicly that this is something they plan, more a question of when. as such bootlegging would be a serious threat to it's imminent success and would threaten to reduce the revenue that the band would receive.
I am all for the band making as much money from their efforts as possible, and think that any bootleg which significantly damaged their earnings off Tigermilk would be a Very Bad Thing. But hey, let's be realistic. The reason I hear for the non-appearance of a reissue is that there is not enough time to release it properly. I assume this means that with the current recording and forthcoming promotion for the new records, the band will not have time to promote it 'properly'. It seems to me that to me that the reissue of Tigermilk is on hold for commercial reasons, then: it is being delayed so that (i) the reissue can be promoted in such a way as to maximise sales, which is a good thing, but also (ii) to increase the 'great lost album' myth, and to generate an ever more hysterical demand for it.
Whilst this is fine, and probably very good business, people who try to manipulate the tiger of the supply-demand consumer economy should not be surprised when the damn thing turns round and bites them. There are people in this world who make their living from bootlegging records. My guess is that none of them read this list, but I may be wrong. As the fame of Tigermilk spreads, and the price it fetches rises, it becomes more likely that it will be systematically bootlegged.
the difference between a tape and cd recording is one of quality, but not a perceivable difference unless you're incredibly fussy. a tape is poorer quality and as such would not be used to produce bootlegs from, cd's on the other hand are accepted as a standard for a master recording and can be used in mass-duplication facilities to produce large runs of bootleg cd's. ... it must be realised that should a mass production of Tigermilk on cd ever originate illegally, it would probably have been done by someone that we (as the list) know. simply because it is us (the fans, friends, record company, etc) that own the original vinyl Tigermilk, so it is most likely that the cd used would have originated from one of us (as it is unlikely that a cd produced from a tape would be accepted by any but the most worthless bootleggers). this is one of the most horrible realisations on this subject, and it is this i would love to prevent.
Except that the survey a few months ago tracked down just 10% of total Tigermilkage world-wide. The profits involved in selling, say 1000 bootlegs would mean that a copy of the LP on the collectors market (lets say ?300 for the sake of argument) would represent a good financial investment on the part of our prospective Belle bandit. I wouldn't worry too much about our friends in this case...though I might be wrong.
we can serve ourselves and protect the band we love simply by restricting our own copies to tape format and not a digital (master) format.
It's just as likely that the bootlegger would use a vinyl copy, surely? Giving access to the cover and the credits etc... I hope all you minidisk users are hanging your heads, with your master formats.:-) I'm still in tape-based servitude.
I am not trying to defend bootlegging of the LP. Neither do I disagree that Tigermilk owners should exercise some discretion. I just think that, if there are worries about bootlegs damaging earnings, they come as a direct result of the decision not to reissue earlier. A decision which has left a lot of fans (myself included) desperate for a copy of Tigermilk which will be a little more permanent than tape.
Just a thought.
Tim
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