Night Shield said:
Anyone know anything about the proper legal recourse to take against people who are bootleging your shit in a major way?
Some dude is traveling around selling CD-R copies of all the latest albums like Nelly, Eminem and others. My album is among one of the albums he is selling. He's told folks I know that he has sold over 300 copies of my album alone. This is his way of living, Is it worth looking for a lawyer over?
My first suggestion would be to not believe everything people say. Think about what he is saying and then ask yourself how realistic that is.
If he really is selling copies of your stuff, it's probably helping you more than hurting you. Say he actually has sold 300 copies of your album. That's 300 people who know your name now. That's 300 people who might recommend your album to others. That's how a buzz starts, by word-of-mouth. Bootlegging is like free promotion for newcomers.
If it's a money issue for you, look at it this way: 300 copies @ $10 is $3000. But nobody is going to buy a CDR of an unknown artist for that much so he probably gets $5 at best so now you are down to $1500. And even that is based on the assumption that the dude really has sold 300 copies, which I doubt because again, it's an album on CDR from an unknown artist. Personally, I wouldn't even pay for that.
If you see the cat, just whoop his ass and let it go. If dude sells atleast a thousand copies of your shit and you can somehow prove that, then maybe talking to a lawyer is in your best interest. Just understand that seeking legal action is going to cost you money, not make you money.
