MorMovies wrote to zorn-list: M> The artist gets ripped off if he licenses his/her work to one M> territory but it the work gets distributed worldwide. Balls. The *artist* is not ripped off; it's still a *sale*, where the retail step of the chain takes place has nothing to do with the artist's percentage of the take from the distributor. It's not like the disc has been pirated or anything, everybody who would have gotten paid has been paid (Royal Mail or whoever just got a bigger taste of their own for the international shipping). M> Other companies won't pay a licensing fee to the artist if the work M> is already trickling into their territory. Yeah, right. Those Beatles lps on Vee Jay *really damaged* Capitol. Pffft. A *trickle* of imports to anoraks has no more effect on the marketing decisions of the majors than any other opinion those anoraks might have. If anything, staggered releases work to build hype, *because* some people will jump for the import and then talk it up for their own ego effects, *and the suits know it*: look at the recent "breaking" of The Strokes (or in another medium, China Miéville) for just that sort of process. -- Jim Flannery newgrange@sfo.com There's no need for us to return to San Francisco at all. -- Michael Moorcock np: Old, _Formula_ nr: Mick Farren, _Give the Anarchist a Cigarette_