More bootleggers are cashing in on renewed interest in vinyl.
As vinyl record sales hit levels not seen since the 1980s, criminals are cashing in. Fake vinyl records are making millions worldwide, tricking music fans and hurting the very comeback that created the chance.
This rise in fake vinyl could hurt the revival that created it, fooling music lovers and damaging the industry’s hard-won comeback.
The Rise of Vinyl and Counterfeit Trade
Vinyl’s return has been good news for an industry long battered by digital changes.
The UK alone saw 5.5 million vinyl albums sold in 2022, with the first half of 2023 seeing another 12% rise. And, in the US, vinyl sales made up 71% of all money from physical music formats in 2023.
But as we’ve found the warm, rich sounds of analog again, counterfeiters have found a new market to exploit.
Paola Monaldi, who leads the British Phonographic Industry’s (BPI) content protection unit, talks about this dark side of vinyl’s return.
The scale is staggering. Between 2020 and 2022, the BPI removed 43,000 counterfeit records from online marketplaces, with an estimated value of £860,000. And that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg.
How the Counterfeit Trade Operates
Counterfeiters exploit gaps in the legitimate market. When popular records sell out or cost too much, they step in with cheaper, unauthorized copies.
But these vinyl vultures aren’t satisfied with mere imitation.
They tap into what collectors want, making bootlegs of live shows, rare radio sessions, and studio outtakes. And, they also copy special colored vinyl and picture discs, sometimes charging high prices for fakes.
Some even make vinyl versions of albums that never officially came out on vinyl, like Beyoncé’s “4” or Frank Ocean’s “Channel Orange”.
The BPI’s investigations reveal that much of this fake vinyl comes from EU countries.
While some fakes are made in “very dirty and messy places,” others use good equipment, making the fakes harder to spot. In rare cases, even real pressing plants might make unauthorized runs.
To avoid getting caught, counterfeiters use complex networks.
Records, labels, and covers often travel separately across European borders. Sometimes, even the metal plates used to press vinyl move between countries. This split-up approach makes it hard for police to catch the whole operation.
Once produced, these fake records make their way to consumers through various channels.
Online shops like eBay and Discogs are popular places where fake vinyl mixes with real stock. This mix makes it very hard for unsuspecting buyers to distinguish real from fake.
Adding to the problem are grey-market imports – real records sold outside normal channels. These are not counterfeits per se. But, they create additional confusion in the marketplace and can inadvertently provide cover for truly illegal operations.
The end result? A mix of legitimate, grey-market, and counterfeit products that challenges both industry watchdogs and buyers.
Major Cases
The case of Richard Hutter shows how much money this illegal trade can make. This UK seller laundered over £1.2 million from fake vinyl sales before getting caught.
Hutter’s online store, Vinyl Groove UK, sold fake LPs of rock stars to unknowing customers. Ironically, a buyer’s complaint about a bad copy of Bad Company’s first album started the investigation.
When investigated, Hutter tried to hide his tracks, saying he was selling vinyl bought in “job lots” to US customers. But even with pandemic delays and legal tricks, he was eventually caught.
In another blow to fake vinyl, Operation Typhoon saw police take 5,000 fake albums from a west London industrial unit in February 2023. This operation started when a British record label worker found strange vinyl versions of their company’s albums while on holiday in Europe.
Impact on the Music Industry and Consumers
Counterfeit records harm the entire music ecosystem.
Consumers often end up with inferior products. Counterfeit records frequently have poor sound quality, fuzzy artwork, and blurred text. Some may not even play properly.
And, of course, the financial impact on an industry still finding its footing in the digital age can’t be overstated. Every dollar lost to fakes could hurt independent labels and artists trying to stay afloat.
In fact, the problem is so big that some record shops expect a 5% “bootleg tax” in their stock, seeing it as an unfortunate cost of doing business.
This plague isn’t limited to vinyl, either.
An RIAA study found that a quarter of CDs sold by Amazon were illegal copies. Tommy Boy Records even saw vinyl records for sale on Amazon that they had never made – a weird situation for any label.
Industry Response and Challenges
The music industry isn’t taking this lying down.
The BPI has experts who watch online sales and go to record fairs to spot fakes. They work with websites to take down listings and help police with bigger cases.
Online marketplaces are stepping up their game, too.
Amazon has implemented a verification process for sellers, which has helped stem the tide of counterfeits. Some pressing plants now also require labels to sign documents absolving them of legal responsibility for counterfeit production.
The industry is also getting better at spotting fake operations, watching for unusual sales patterns like records selling well but not getting more orders.
However, the challenge remains immense.
The worldwide nature of the trade makes it hard to find makers. Even when counterfeiters are caught, new ones quickly pop up. This problem affects both major labels and independents, requiring a united front in response.
I wish we could get some more bootlegs of the late Rush albums.
Copies of some of these are selling for £100s
When an artist/label show no interest in reissuing albums when there is clearly still demand I think it’s fair enough for some enterprising person to fill the gap in the market.