Thread: Hatto & copying...

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Post by Claude February 26, 2007 (31 of 67)
Peter said:

You will notice over time that no SACDs were used as source material; CD producers, please take note. You can make an analogue copy but not a direct digital one.

Peter,

I don't understand how this could be pertinent. Do you think the SACD format could have made any difference in this affair? The recordings were copied digitally from CDs and then manipulated. They could have done the same with analog copies from single layer SACDs, and nobody would have noticed it.

Video DVD as a standard music format could have prevented the Hatto scandal. Imagine the old lady having to "finger-sync" with the stolen recordings ;-)

Post by Peter February 26, 2007 (32 of 67)
Claude, I think the longer time it takes to copy a disc in real time instead of a quick rip would put people off. As I said, though, it isn't impossible, but is it worth the extra hassle? Not that I'm thinking of branching out. Still, if you're determined to appropriate a perfomance from any medium, you'll do it, so SACD isn't a safeguard.

Post by ramesh February 27, 2007 (33 of 67)
I don't believe the Con-Artist's confession to Robert von Bahr is entirely honest. I have placed a post in the gramophone.co.uk forum under 'instrumental' to substantiate this. In another part of the same forum, the Gramophone editor states that the critic Jed Distler, who was informed by a reader that the Hatto Liszt was identified by i-Tunes as performed by Laszlo Simon, asked 'Gramophone' to withhold his name from the initial publication of the story on 15 February.

Post by seth February 27, 2007 (34 of 67)
ramesh said:

I don't believe the Con-Artist's confession to Robert von Bahr is entirely honest.

There are many holes in his story, most notably the sheer lunacy of doing patch-ups with other recordings. He's also doesn't even bother to explain ripping off the concerto recording (unless he's still maintaining that Rene Kohler is a real person). And if this was all about honoring his wife, what did he do with the profit? Invest it back into the company? Start a charity in her name? Buy a new car?

Post by flyingdutchman February 27, 2007 (35 of 67)
And through this whole thread Robert is silent.

Post by Claude February 28, 2007 (36 of 67)
Why should Robert make some comments here? The Hatto scandal is being discussed on every classical music forum. He made an official statement on his website.

Post by Peter February 28, 2007 (37 of 67)
IIRC reading in a newspaper, he's on holiday.

Post by flyingdutchman February 28, 2007 (38 of 67)
Claude said:

Why should Robert make some comments here? The Hatto scandal is being discussed on every classical music forum. He made an official statement on his website.

I find it ironic that he's commented on just about everything else related to his label here, but when it comes to something that strikes at the very heart of the issue he doesn't have much to say. To forgive someone is truly divine, but Robert is being way to lenient when it comes to copyright infringement. I don't care how old Barrington-Coupe is. The man clearly heard about a naive soul willing to forgive him and latched onto him.

Post by bissie February 28, 2007 (39 of 67)
Peter said:

IIRC reading in a newspaper, he's on holiday.

Yes, I was trying to be - the first one in 8 years. No tears, please, but from the 15th until I went home on the 24th I spent a minimum of 9 hours a day in a dark room with one telephone and a computer being contacted by radio stations from Finland over USA to New Zealand, answering questions in 8 languages, making statements, keeping up an off-the-record correspondence with Barrington-Coupe, slowly cajoling him from denial to confession and reading up on different fora. Not the best of timing, this. My family was not amused. On the other hand, had I gone into hiding, we would still be guessing, since Barrington-Coupe only "talked" to me. Reason: I wrote a non-abusive mail to him and he obviously felt either that I was gullible enough or that he could trust me. I probably am and he could.

Best - Robert

Post by bissie February 28, 2007 (40 of 67)
flyingdutchman said:

I find it ironic that he's commented on just about everything else related to his label here, but when it comes to something that strikes at the very heart of the issue he doesn't have much to say. To forgive someone is truly divine, but Robert is being way to lenient when it comes to copyright infringement. I don't care how old Barrington-Coupe is. The man clearly heard about a naive soul willing to forgive him and latched onto him.

This is easy to answer. flyingdutchman (why is almost everyone anonymous on this forum?) is wrong, and I have a hell of a lot to say, but: I have absolutely no mandate to speak for the Industry, and it would be truly megalomaniac of me to pretend so. Therefore I choose only to talk about things I can stand for, and that is BIS.

But, for the record, I haven't forgiven him. I find what he has done to be truly despicable, apart from being illegal. I try to be pragmatic about it, though, and also try to be a tad understanding. Given that B-C claims he can prove that he only sold about 8'000 CD:s (incl. non-Hatto CD:s) during the past 2 years, I would tend to believe that money wasn't the reason behind this. What other reason, then, than the one he has put forward? That he doesn't seem able to differentiate between right and wrong (I was shaken to read about his prison sentence for tax fraud) doesn't per se make his reasoning impossible. Or even improbable.

So, what does anybody gain from persecuting him? Revenge? For me revenge is an unworthy feeling. Telling others that it'll cost to do what he did? Which others? This hasn't been perpetrated before. I don't think it will be again. We bosses in the classical business are by and large nutcases, but generally honest. Money? Well, if he ever had any, it'll be safely stashed away in Bermuda by now. So, in the choice of a drawn-out process and living and let die, I prefer the latter, as far as BIS are concerned.

I cannot even prove a loss - how could I prove that any/every buyer of the Hatto TE recording would have bought the BIS Simon recording, had the Hatto not been there? Parenthetically, we have sold a total of two (2) copies of our recording, since the story broke 2 weeks ago.... And László should be grateful - he has been more talked about in these 2 weeks than in his entire life earlier. So what case do I have??

I do not speak for the Industry, however. Probably others will think differently, and, if they feel strongly enough about it, he'll be dragged to Court. I just disagree, pragmatically speaking. It won't do much good, but possibly a lot of harm, in addition to costing someone a lot of money (cf. the Hyperion case. The UK is one place where I wouldn't want to litigate!!).

Also I don't buy the whole story, but I am gullible and perhaps romantic enough to think that he did set out as he described, and then got carried away.

He managed to drag his wife's name into the mud. Since noone has doubted that he truly loved and cherished her, isn't that punishment enough?

Best - Robert

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