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£2.99 Miles Bargain If You Don't Have It

It's a pirate. There is a weirdness in EU copyright law that only protects music for 50 years, and many classic jazz titles are now outside this. There are a whole glut of titles out there, none have been anywhere near a master tape. Some are vinyl rips, some are straight rips of existing CDs, and some have been very badly re-EQ'd, I assume in an attempt to disguise the source - I heard a Bill Evans 3xCD set recently that included some Riverside period stuff and it sounded awful with horribly boomy boosted bass. The way to spot these "legal" pirates is that the cover image has a longer copyright, so they all have the wrong pictures on the sleeve. Tread carefully!

Tony.
 
Tony

Many many thanks for the headsup

if its too good to be true................

Tail between legs etc

Regards

Martin
 
It's good to point this out - these pirates seem to have slunk in quietly under the radar, the more folk are aware the better IMO.

The whole thing opens up a real can of worms. With these great works effectively becoming 'public domain' there is likely to be less care taken in custody of the masters etc. It places the whole musical legacy at risk IMO. I'm very uneasy about the whole thing and I'd far prefer to pay three times the cash to Columbia or whoever just to get a decent mastering and ensure the title itself remains safe / protected for future generations.

Tony.
 
Interesting. So where did they get a picture of him wearing the same suit and tie? Or are these photoshopped in?
Ouch, this one is bad:

NOT3CD053resized.jpg
 
Martin D said:
does that mean there is NO ownership of the material now? I'm confused.
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In the EU music copyright is only for 50 years, i.e. there is nothing to stop you or I manufacturing and selling Kind Of Blue CDs. There is some difference for visual images, so we can't use the original covers!

The area I don't understand is how this relates to mastering from a legal perspective, i.e. I can't see how we'd be legally allowed to use Columbia's 1997 remaster or whatever. I guess this is why these "legal" pirates tend to obfusticate this aspect.

Tony.

PS this applies to vinyl too - there are miles more pirated records around at present than any time I can remember. Tons of prog-rock, Krautrock, jazz, folk etc etc. Some (e.g. the jazz) using the 50 year copyright, many just blatant pirates. It amazes me when I see then in the record shops. I don't want to buy or stock them at all.
 
Tony L said:
The area I don't understand is how this relates to mastering from a legal perspective, i.e. I can't see how we'd be legally allowed to use Columbia's 1997 remaster or whatever. I guess this is why these "legal" pirates tend to obfusticate this aspect.
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I've wondered about this as well, specifically when it comes to older stuff like Django Reinhardt 78s where there are no masters available. I'm very happy to pay a company like JSP for sympathetically transferred and cleaned recordings (and frankly their box sets are still a bargain) but I don't know if there's anything stopping other firms taking their work and knocking it out at two quid a pop.
 
Interesting, as I recently bought Sketches of Spain on the Poll Winners label from HMV for £6. When I checked Amazon, there was the Columbia issue for £5 & mine for £8! Is the Poll Winners release an erm...'parallel' issue and potentially from a dubious master? It claims newly re-mastered and sounds ok, but I don't have the Columbia issue for reference.

Just going back to the artwork thing, my 'Sketches' CD has alternative artwork, but the Kind of Blue on Not Now Music has the same artwork as the Columbia issue, how do they manage that?
 
My CD copy of KoB is (p) 1962 but was issued 1982. However Somethin' Else is (p) 1986. The latter contains an extra track, perhaps that makes a difference. Or perhaps the legal subtlety of a rerecording of an original recording claiming a new (p) copyright is a post 1982 invention.

Anyway over the next few years we will be able to exchange needledrops of Beatles first pressings moral dilemma free. And perhaps with a (p) 2013 of our own...

Paul
 
Tesco and Asda also have KoB @£3 but the sleeve talks of the speed correction in the remastering...is missing so are these the none 'definitive' version?
 
Tony L said:
My term, I'm struggling to think of another to describe unofficial copying done against the will of the music owners.
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I think the point is that they're no longer the music owners. They can own the master though - because that's a physical thing.

I suppose you could just call it a 'poor quality reproduction', or PQR if you like your TLAs.
 
Has anyone heard it though? I have heard some crap versions of KOB which are 'official'. Perhaps an enthusiast will make a better job of it.
 
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