I have a Rosemary Clooney 3 disc set, and a Jo Stafford set on "Golden Stars" out of Portugal(which as I recall predates the recent crush of PD labels). Also I just got(thanks to a suggestion on this board) a 3 disc Frankie Laine set on Dynamic Nostalgia(EU). Also several releases on "Play24/7"(single albums and 2-fers).
Not sure it's the same company, but Hallmark was the label for the first release of Sandy Denny and the Strawbs, which was not grey market, and is highly recommended. Very different mix from the later Ryko version.
Somehow Radioactive/Fallout (this is the UK label, not the US one) used to get their pretty obviously black and market items into mainstream distribution.
Anotherone is Membran. Have seen this one around in stores here in Norway. http://www.membran-online.de/product_info.php?products_id=4307
Jasmine has been around for a long time. I have a Harry Belafonte CD on the "Remember" label that is a PD label, cloned from the Bear Family box.
They have, and back in the 80s they used to lease legit stuff, master it superbly and put it out on a decent thick chunk of vinyl. For Jasmine, those days have long passed into distant memory.
BTW, the first time Carolyn Hester's Scarlet Ribbons album has been released on CD is unfortunately on the Jasmine 2 CD release of her first 3 albums plus Bob Dylan's S/T album. All of her albums save for Scarlet Ribbons had already been on CD.
I knew the guys who ran Jasime, John and Mike. Back in the day when they licenced the Impluse and AmPar masters, they told me they came from digital masters they got from MCA. They also licenced the Dot label albums from Keely Smith and Sam Butera. They also had a country label called "Stetson" that licened masters from Capitol. Then they were sued by the hat company and had to change the name (which I forgot). I don't know about the stuff they're doing now but at one time they were legit. Labels for the lizst The Jazz Factory Definitive Records (lifts from Mosaic sets) Giants Of Jazz (GOJ) Quadromania (from Germany)
I'm convinced there's really only about five different offices that run all the Public Domain labels, and each office handles about 100 different fake labels. That's the only thing that makes sense. It seems like there's a new one every week, especially in Eastern Europe.
I was browsing Amazon last night for 'period' music (1950s or so) and came across some other labels - 101 Distribution Not Now One Day RPM Distribution Looked like the style
The Jasmine CDs of those Dot albums are poor quality needledrops. Often I'd wished for a quality reissue of some old music or other only to find the owners - assuming anyone there knew what it was or that they owned it - wouldn't even bother, due to off-hand perceptions that "no one would buy it." Instead I'm seeing innumerable instances of the domestic and international markets for the music, which of course did and do exist, finally being served - with junk from rip-off outfits.
Are you referring to UK-based RPM? I'm not sure it's a PD label: http://www.cherryred.co.uk/rpmshout.asp
I wondered about that too, as I have some RPMs, they have liner notes, etc. This is the listing I saw on Amazon.ca http://www.amazon.ca/Essential-Rockabilly-Decca-Story-Rockabilly-The/dp/B005RYD1EG/ref=pd_sim_m_15
Yes, the fear is that now, the major labels won't be interested in ever doing big boxed-set reissues of pre-1963 artists because of the threat of PD labels. On the other hand: the major labels weren't jumping up and down reissuing this stuff in the last 10-15 years, either.
I believe the same can be said of Fresh Sound, which usually include copious, well-done notes in their reissues of vintage jazz material. What's the source for these grey-label reissues? Do they simply dupe CDs of material in the public domain? I recently saw a multi-CD box of something like 6 Yusef Lateef Riverside recordings from the late fifties and early sixties. Is the issuer simply duping the OJC CDs?
Something tells me that John and Mike sold the label. John told me that the Louis Prima and related Dot albums were licenced from Smith and Butera who he says owns the rights. The tapes are probably at Universal or lost.
Just to be clear, are we just dissing companies who put out sonically inferior products or all companies who legally use material that is in the pubic domain?
Disky does licence and release legitimate, authorized recordings, but they also participate in 'grey market' releases.
For Kiwi's, avoid Music World/Hoghton Hughes Leisure Group. They've been going at it since sometime in the late 60's. They're more or less New Zealand's K-Tel. Each year they'd release LP's called "20 Solid Gold Hits" which are somewhat famous in NZ. I've got the first LP, and it's mono, no bass, and hissy, and this is 1971!. They did ocasionally release some decent stuff on the "Music For Leisure" label (very similarly labeled but not to be confused with the British "Music For Pleasure" label).
Music World did some great reissues (Dinah Lee, Max Merritt, Johnny Devin etc). Rumour had it they'd put them out until the official owners served a cease and desist order and then they'd take them off the shelves. (They even put out a Beatles Decca Tapes and some amazing 60s video compilations)
