Re: Someone asking bootleg questions

["Steve Z." <ledzep@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

William Spargur wrote:
> 
> OK I must be a little out of the loop on this subject, but I thought I
> read somewhere that although bootlegs were recorded without the band's
> authorization, they were still payed royalties or something like that.
> Is this information incorrect or only true for some of the bootleg labels?

I believe what you're referring to is the practice in some countries,
Italy in particular, of paying royalties on releases even if they
weren't authorized by the artist. The royalties were supposed to be
deposited in a bank account, and could be claimed by the artist or his
or her representative. An example of this can be found in the Great Dane
release "Over The Hill and Far Away", the insert of which has the
following statement:

"We bring to the attention of the performing artists, components of the
musical group, as indicated on the back side of the album cover, that
upon publication of the present phonographic recording, the deposit of a
sum for each copy made as fair consideration has been made on their
behalf and/or on behalf of their assignees as provided for under article
80 and following L. 22/4/1941 n 633.

This deposit has been made in the form of a passbook savings account
with the Banca Popolare di Milano Ag. 21, held at the Great Dane Records
S.r.l. office and will be transferred to the legitimate owners upon
specific request."

The text is in both Italian and English. It's doubtful anyone from the
Zep organization ever bothered to collect the cash due them from Great
Dane, or if Great Dane actually opened such an account. 

For a more in depth exploration of this "legitimate bootleg" phenomena,
check out the book "Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording
Industry" by Clinton Heylin. It goes into much of the legal situation in
Europe that made bootlegs legal, at least until the laws were changed a
year or two ago. It also has some interesting stories about the
recording of some of the most famous Zep bootlegs.

Steve