RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

oi artistic property rights, some kind of tax to be paid by tape and cassette buyers”. Melomaniac pirates operate where music is being performed live, in concert halls, theatres...This is the most interesting form of piracy. They even contribute to the conservation of the artistic legacy. Some unforgettable interpretations by Maria Callas are owed to them, which despite the reiatively poor technical procedures, or maybe because of them, have an authenticity that highly commercial records often overlook. The tenacily of these pirates, their desire to preserve high points in the history of music has helped broaden the catalogues of a number of firms. Of course, these pirates are not always devoid of profit motives. Some extremely impassioned collectors, who аге growing in number, put more importance on the significance of a recording than its musical ог technical quality. These pirate records rarely go over a circulation of 500 copies. In the main they come from the USA where legislation is still vague in this domain, or from Italy where there is no legal protection despite the international convention recently ratified by 34 countries. Мапу recordings have been made from old 78 recordings whose patents have run out Here the artists are hurt the most But, intriguingly, most of them do not complain, as if they were flattered by all the attention. Maria Callas is said to have collected every pirate recording. The Assistant Director of the Paris Opera says in regard to this; ”All recording is prohibited at our place, but it is difficult to search the members of the audience. After all, most pirate recordings are made over the radio. If we find someone in the auditorium with a mini-tape-recorder we confiscate the tape. However, the number of radio broadcasts is rising and so there аге more and more pirate recordings. In principle, music shops аге not allowed to sell these recordings. But still, they do. For the performers this is sheer robbery because they get no compensation whatsoever. To cope with this a tax should be levied on tape-recorders and tapes, and the returns should be placed in a special fund. A similar proposal was rejected in Parliament two years ago.”

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