Their stock in trade seems to be unofficial replicas of (admittedly mostly groovy) underground and cult favorites, occasionally re-prints of previously available shirts.
This is all fine and good, and in fact I’m glad a lot of these are available, but - could someone with a little more legal knowledge than myself explain how they get away with this? This is hardly a clandestine operation, and not the only one of its kind either (there are quite a few similar shops on Etsy offering merch with picture-perfect replicas of cult movie posters / book covers / album covers etc.)
I mean, are they just testing the waters and hoping they survive as long as possible before someone comes after them with a cease and desist order? Or is there some loophole that permits this 3rd party use of presumably copyrighted images? Curious, am I…
I don’t even like “With Sympathy” but it really does make for a great T-shirt when done cleanly in white on black.
True dat. It’s amazing how some of these designs come to life when reduced to a single color print and then slapped on basic black or one of the alternate color options.
Anyway, to address your query, I suspect there are so many of these that it is just hard as hell to do anything about it. The artists could hire a lawyer every time and shoot these people in the balls, but it’s just so much work . . . and for most of these small underground acts it’s not like they really have endless funds to do it, so, if any action is taken (which has to be first prompted by an awareness of the bootlegging) it’s probably, like you said, a cease-and-desist . . . at which point the vendor MIGHT take the Ministry design off the page and put up an old KLUTE shirt or something instead.
I go to a punk/metal flea market whenever I’m in Mexico City and they have really great t-shirts with crisp, quality designs. I know they’re all illegal . . . but . . . I do get some pretty bitchin’ shirts for $4 a piece.
The site you posted is commanding $19 a shirt, though. Pretty decent profit.
Have you bought any?
I’m not familiar with Suehiro Maruo, but . . . . this is a rather striking design too, hahahaha!!!
I did get a shirt from them with a reproduction of an ad for an EDP WASP synthesizer, which is on a badass mustard yellow tee. Worth it just to parade around the outdated instrument specs,e.g. “with the power of TWO oscillators!!!” etc… Am considering a few more wardrobe additions from these guys. The “Visible Smog Monster” shirt is a hoot for Godzilla fans.
I did in fact have a shirt with a Maruo design on it when I was in Japan, I remember I found it at “Village Vanguard” which - if / when you find yourself over there again - is an endlessly amusing combination of a manga shop and a ‘Spencer’s Gifts’ type of place.
This reminds me of a Ramones poster from overseas I saw that had 2 drummers and no bass player on it. Or sometimes you see those retro looking posters advertising a certain gig/venue with the wrong lineup in the photo for that time frame, but claimed as “vintage”.
Remember when Gerda threatened to sue that Ministry rep (who claimed he was just a regular fan like us and not doing viral publicity for the band, really) who posted a link to 13th Planet selling shirts with the Mind cover on it?
Remember when Gerda threatened to sue that Ministry rep (who claimed he was just a regular fan like us and not doing viral publicity for the band, really) who posted a link to 13th Planet selling shirts with the Mind cover on it?
Good times.
HAHAHAHAHA!!! I don’t even remember that chapter, but it sounds about right.
If the band doesn’t exist any more, then I guess I would. But I try to support the bands I like as much as possible.
I’m an “as much as possible” guy too, but make exceptions for stuff that just isn’t available (and at the right price). I don’t ever do illegal downloading or anything like that, and I never complain about ticket prices or such for bands I like. Heck, for the ones I know personally I’ll even just give 'em gas money or book them a hotel room sometimes.
I never felt guilty about buying a Dead Kennedys boot or something since I already bought everything put out legitimately.
I would never buy a counterfeit or copy of something that is obtainable through normal legit channels.
Everyone writes their own code, though, and that’s cool with me.
I wasn’t calling you or anybody out. I was just chiming in with my 2 cents.
I basically follow all those same guidelines.
I just hate it when those guys are selling the bootleg shirts right outside the concert.
And I hate it when people complain about the prices of concert tickets. Well maybe if you bought the damn CDs, instead of stealing it, then the band wouldn’t have to charge as much.
I like at the end credits of The Stoned Age when Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult are trying to sell bootleg BOC shirts in a parking lot…
I like at the end credits of The Stoned Age when Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult are trying to sell bootleg BOC shirts in a parking lot…
This reminds me of a Ramones poster from overseas I saw that had 2 drummers and no bass player on it.
I think I saw some of those at Martin Atkins’ “Big Cartel” store; commemorating his short-lived attempt to convince people he was the fifth Ramone (the ‘lead’ drummer).
I never felt guilty about buying a Dead Kennedys boot or something since I already bought everything put out legitimately.
That’s where Im at. Because I want to complete the collection. It’s not buying bootlegs to get around paying full price. It’s buying bootlegs to have it.
I just hate it when those guys are selling the bootleg shirts right outside the concert.
You do know that most often those dudes work for the band and are selling reject t shirts that have something wrong with them and didn’t make the cut for the merch booth, don’cha’? Granted not always but more often than not, yeah. “ooh you fucked up a comma there… Oh the image is slightly off…” etc etc.
not really bootleggers more like “outlet malleggers”
In college we had a friend whose dad ran security at one of the larger sports arenas which also did concert events, of course. Part of his duties was busting bootleggers in the parking lot . . . and they’d seize the goods. Well, we’d enjoy the spoils and always had a great supply of dodgy shirts. Many of them were a bit wonky, but our favorite of all time (which we noticed after our friend had been wearing it for about a year) was the HAN VALEN t-shirts. The logos were printed backwards and had these really awesome flying HV logos.
I’ll post some pics for y’all later of my current personal worst (which was a gift from my clients in Mexico).
You do know that most often those dudes work for the band and are selling reject t shirts that have something wrong with them and didn’t make the cut for the merch booth, don’cha’? Granted not always but more often than not, yeah. “ooh you fucked up a comma there… Oh the image is slightly off…” etc etc.
not really bootleggers more like “outlet malleggers”
I’ve never heard that, and judging by the crap prints I see, I’m a little skeptical of this theory.
