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About the only CDs I buy these days are old classic blues artists. They are not as expensive as top-40 stuff, and I don't begrudge these guys the pennies they get in royalties.

One thing that the music companies don't understand is that if they'd try and put out GOOD MUSIC these days, their sales would go up. I can't listen to most of the crap on the radio, and it almost kills me to go to the store to buy when I have to listen to that garbage.

Unfortunately, I doubt very seriously that any old classic blues artists (or their survivors) have gotten a penny from their songs since approximately the first time they sang them.

I used to live in New Orleans. There are many, many impromptu, or almost impromptu, performances... there are gigs in bars, etc., etc., etc. (Of course, the really old blues artists, etc., were gone b/f I was ever there.) I think there are plenty of Brits, Europeans, and others who would routinely go to such performances with recording devices hidden on them. Because I've seen so very, very many of those cassettes and CD's for sale. On the label they sometimes say, "Live!" At any rate, when you listen to them, it becomes apparent that they were made while the person was performing in some public place. (Yes, I'm sure Americans have done bootleg recordings too. It's just that the Brits and Europeans seemed to me to do it more, perhaps b/c they recognized the value of old blues artists sooner than did Americans.)

A classic case (having nothing to do with foreigners) was Professor Longhair, who performed in New Orleans in the 70's (and before). I was always told that his manager(s) took all the money. All of it. However, I believe there has been litigation about this--but it was long after the man's death, and was done by relatives of his. Don't know how it came out.

Remember Lee Dorsey? ("Workin' In a Coal Mine", etc.) I always heard that he was an auto mechanic, for years, after he'd made several top 10 recordings. Wanna bet he got rooked and didn't get any royalties?