[78-L] Record Stores

[Michael Biel]

:From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel at mbiel.com>
>>  Of course 
>> HRS, IRCC, UHCA and others was a legit means to get rare records 
>> repressed for sale, and this is noted as showing the companies that 
>> there was a market for re-pressings, 
>>
>>     
Steven C. Barr wrote
> These "pirate" re-issues generated a lot of controversy in the forties!
>   

WRONG!  You are talking about an entirely different sort of thing.  
These were AUTHORIZED licensed and contractually paid for pressings.  
What you are discussing were things like Jolly Roger, Biltmore, Hot Jazz 
Club of America (HJCA) (not to be confused with United Hot Clubs of 
America (UHCA)), Blue Ace, Jay, Gee Gee, Vinylite Jazz Reissues, and a 
bunch of others.  The ones I mentioned were legit -- International 
Record Collectors Club (IRCC), Historic Record Society (HRS) were 
classical/operatic, and UHCA was Milt Gabler at Commodore.  Be more 
careful of what you accuse.
> Technically, of course, they were illegal in virtually all the states (this
> was only partially dealt with in more recent copyright laws covering
> sound recordings) 

Not the ones I mentioned.  Those were totally legal everywhere.

> I had, and THINK I still have, a complete set of
> Record Changer magazines...and there wasa LOT of discussion about
> such issues (and the dearth of legal reissues of great jazz performances
> as well...!). The eventual result was that the record companies finally
> realized they were "sitting on a gold mine" and started reissuing jazz
> rarities...often in album-set form...!
>
> Steven C. Barr

The result of the legal labels in the 30s was George Avakian hired at 
Columbia and Milt Gabler at Decca.  After the illegal pirates in the 
post war years were shut down, the result was Riverside Records, 
X-Label, and reissued by Orren Keepnews on these labels.  Geoffrey has 
written a book on the jazz labels, and Tom Peel and John Stratton has 
written a book about the legal classical operatic labels.  Theres 
another book about Eddie Smith I don't have yet.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com