Bootleggers better be careful around Disneyworld. A year-long investigation that culminated recently in a U.S. Customs sting near the amusement park led to the indictment of 13 major bootleg manufacturers and dealers, and the seizure of 800,000 illegal recordings by such artists as Tori Amos, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles. Six were arrested at an Orlando, Fla.-area restaurant in the sting -- five of whom were foreigners -- and two not caught there were indicted later. In a separate action, warrants were also issued for the arrests of five others. Charges ranged from illegal distribution of sound recordings to conspiracy.
Unlike several recent arrests that were made for counterfeit reproductions of actual albums, the Orlando bust focused on discs that contain live performances, studio outtakes and recorded demos.
Sources close to those arrested say the trap was sprung by a California-based bootleg seller who dropped out of sight last year, taking with him a large inventory of product and some unpaid bills. He resurfaced early this year, contacting his suppliers and arranging a meeting that included both a free trip to Disneyworld and the repayment of old debts. Customs agents moved in when the bootleg sellers were gathered in a restaurant. The informant and an associate, who apparently cut a deal, still face charges, and a half-million recordings were reportedly confiscated from them, according to other dealers.
The RIAA confirmed that the owners of Midnight Beat (Luxembourg), Shattered Records (Los Angeles) and High End Audio (Long Island) were among those arrested. The two who escaped arrest in Orlando own the San Marino, Italy-based Kiss the Stone label, which operated legally under San Marino law. The label has since announced it will shut down at the end of April.
"A year or more ago, as long as you had paid the mechanical royalties for the physical production of the discs, in some regions of Europe, including Italy, the discs may have been legal," explains RIAA spokesman Frank Creighton. "However, those loopholes have recently been closed in Italy, except for principalities like San Marino, which does not follow Italian law." Creighton adds that pressure is being put on San Marino to fall in line with worldwide copyright laws.
Both the RIAA and bootleg collectors agree that the bust will have a substantial impact on the availability of illegal live recordings for some time to come. The arrests and subsequent shut-down of several major bootleg manufacturers is also expected to lead to a shortage of product and, consequently, a rise in prices.
Needless to say, record fanatics are not happy about this. "Bootleg producers are not competing with the majority of the record companies' products," says one collector who asked not to be named. "If the recording industry wants a piece of