sure, I guess this is a rock n roll worthy ping :)
Posted on 05/20/2004 10:57:28 AM PDT by weegee
Millions of holidaymakers going to Greece this summer have been warned they could be jailed for buying pirated CDs after a buyer was imprisoned.
A man was jailed for three months by an Athens court for buying illegal CDs in the country's first case of its kind.
He had been arrested as he bought two CDs from a vendor in Athens last week, said the International Federation of the Phonographic Industries (IFPI).
The group gave a clear warning it would target buyers of counterfeit CDs.
IFPI spokesman Ion Stamboulis said: "This is not a symbolic measure. We are determined to prosecute the buyers and we have the support of the authorities."
Greece has the worst piracy rate in western Europe.
About 10 million pirated CDs are sold in Greece each year - the same number of sales as those of genuine CDs - at an average cost of six euros (£4) each. Travellers from the UK are among the customers for counterfeit CDs sold openly on the streets, outside cafes or on beaches.
The Greek authorities appear to be acting to stave off the threat of an increase in piracy anticipated during this summer's Olympics in Athens.
About 1,000 vendors have been prosecuted during the past few years, but this is the first time a buyer has been jailed.
"Until now, we were focusing on the sellers, but Greek courts generally hand them light suspended sentences and they resume their trade as soon as they are released," said Mr Stamboulis.
He said production and distribution were virtually controlled by what he called a "Nigerian mafia".
He said he expected a big surge in pirated CD trafficking during the Olympics from 13 - 29 August.
Rock and Roll PING?
That's, like, 7 or 8 dollars. No way would I pay that much for a pirated CD. I mean, it only costs them a few cents to make them. And I doubt there's a return policy if it's messed up.
This is the rest of the story:
In Greece there is an efficient network of streek vendors who walk around selling CD's. These are exact duplicates of the commercial CD's. With CD's going for 20-30 euros a 4 or 5 euro copy is a bargain. They are the same in all but the box. They even copy the "piracy is killing the music" logo on the back.
It is an efficient distribution model that the records should have considered. You sit in a comfy cafe, a sales vendo hands you a group of about 100 CD's and you pick the ones you want. Some of the vendors have a regular route and they can GUARANTEE the quality of their CD. If you buy a CD and it is defective they will swap it out.
New vendors carry a CD with them and demostrate the fact the CD works, track by track if the customer insists.
It is incredibly convenient and incredibly cheep. You think US CD's are overpriced....
And yes it is mostly african born who are these street vendors.
I think you should be jailed for buying anything by Madonna or Justin Timberlake, pirated or not.
I am sure that lead to some interesting conversations. "What are you in for?" "Murdered a cop." "Held up a bank." "Stole a car." "I broke a regulation of the International Phonographic Institute."
actualy its 4-5 euros and the price of a commercial CD is in the 20-30 euro range. Basically CD prices are double in Greece. (especially for greek artists)
Are the Greek CDs pressed or burned?
Does this anti-piracy measure include "rare live albums" and "alternate takes compilations" or just knockoffs of studio albums? I ask this because Europe has long been lax on recordings that were not officially released by a band or studio.
The price for these bootlegs seems high. In Prague, pressed albums (the Beatles' Christmas album, the Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter "soundtrack"...) are around $4 US. I think that such grey market recordings are legal to own in the US even if you can't sell them here. Cracking down on buyers harder than sellers seems to indicate there is more money in prosecuting more people (the buyers) than in ending the problem.
In Mexico, I hear that CD-R bootlegs of albums run $2-4.
Japanese CDs are around $30-35. I wonder if there is a problem with bootlegs. I know that there are identical pressed bootleg DVDs to compete with the Japanese DVD market (titles typically are $50 but bootlegs are closer to $8).
Yeah, HongKong and Taiwan companies bootleg just about all the CDs Japan produces and sell them at less than a third the price.
Yeah, HongKong and Taiwan companies bootleg just about all the CDs Japan produces and sell them at less than a third the price.
sure, I guess this is a rock n roll worthy ping :)
I have a few bootlegs of the Sonic's Rendezvous Band from Detroit, featuring Fred "Sonic" Smith, and Scott Morgan on guitar.
One of the bootlegs, "Strikes Like Lightning", is so bad that the track names are totally wrong.
But, the record is a nice clear-yellow, and it's hand numbered # 29/400 !
Hooray for the bad bootleg!
LOL
I guess too many people have gotten wise to the Nigerian 419 scam and they have moved on or at least diversifying..
I hear the sentence is doubled if one is caught in possession of a Toby Keith or Charlie Daniels CD.
Certainly with the US charging $12-20 a CD, the UK $15-25, and Japan $22-35 it becomes obvious that the price of a CD isn't based on the cost of manufacturing a CD.
Also a DVD in the US generally costs $8-24 for major studio product.
I saw them open for Iggy in Ann Arbor about 22 years ago.
aawww,
go ask alice and dont forget the 8x10 glossies.
darn was that 2 different referances? you cant ask alice because she is in chains.
The 8X10 photos won't matter because of the seeing eye dog.
I think we are both showing our age. :)
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