Remember the days of being able to cop the newest album from the barbershop or Chinese restaurant for $5? An upcoming book, How Music Got Free, talks about one man that made it possible. Dell Glover an employee of a CD pressing plant in North Carolina, is the guy who leaked major label releases such as 2-Pac’s “California Love”, JAY Z’s Blueprint, The Eminem Show and Lil’ Wayne’s 500 Degreez. Through Glover’s network of barbershop distributors, private customers and other sources, he was able to make on average $1,500 extra a month during his hay day through bootlegging. In September of 2009, Glover was raided by the F.B.I. and his illegal operation was shut down.
Today, with piracy and file sharing at an ultimate high, artists like JAY Z & Kanye West, Beyonce, Drake & Kid Cudi releasing digital-first and “surprise” albums, it makes record labels less susceptible to leaks, which bootleggers get their hands on by F-ing up physical releases, once the master is send to the pressing plant or when the official distributors ship CD copies to retailers. Check out the full article here.
What was the first bootleg CD you copped and from where?
