Fans Rip Off Artists, Too

Margaret [Moser],
   I read your piece about trading music in cyberspace ["The Trees," Oct. 3]. Concerning this Texas Psych group, they claim to take a $3 donation that goes to the Roky Trust for the music they pass around. Maybe they do, but what about money for the remaining members of the Elevators, the Aliens, and my old group the Explosives, who are also on these recordings they are trading around without our permission? What about writers' and publishers' royalties? I suppose it's fine for groups like Golden Dawn and Sweettarts, who are unable to get their music out in any legitimate way, to agree to let their work go out for free in cyberspace. The problem I have with this is we never gave permission for them to offer the three Roky & the Explosives live recordings. They even created cover art by taking our images from our album cover, which they also never asked permission to do! Their argument is that the major labels never did a good and fair job with these recordings. Well, two wrongs don't make a right. They invited the labels to take the stuff and do a better job than they've done. The reality is the market for this music is not a huge one. After this music has been passed around like a sorority girl at a frat party, how many want it anymore? At present, Roky & the Explosives' former manager and I are working on "Best of" Roky & the Explosives releases. The best we can do is offer some cuts nobody has ever heard (which we have) and photos and memorabilia that nobody has ever seen. That guy at Texas Psych represents himself to be "in the loop" and privy to all things Roky, but believe me, he is not. These people who claim to be the ultimate fans don't seem to realize they are ultimately hurting their musical heroes. Even creepier than a music label ripping off artists for money are fans doing it to aggrandize themselves.