Ri-goddamn-diculous.

Look, I'm a member of HFA. Quite a large chunk of my company's income is derived from publishing royalties. Still, I couldn't help rolling my eyes when I read Deborah Miller's post. I don't think this issue is nearly as cut-and-dried as her hostile language would suggest. Kevin Gilbert is a cult artist, and anyone who would pay for the disc Kravitz was selling undoubtedly already owns the rest of his catalog. If she's so worried about the Gilbert estate being paid, maybe kevingilbert.com should make the recording available for purchase--as per Kravitz' offer.

Oh, but wait--kevingilbert.com has no interest in making it available. Undoubtedly there would be certain licensing issues that would come into play prior to a legitimate release, but she doesn't mention this as a reason.

I own many bootlegs. They are exciting and valuable opportunities to get glimpses of my favorite artists in unfamiliar settings. The fact that I pay outrageous sums for them is due to the fact that people like Deborah Miller think they should be illegal. This is an attitude that punishes no one other than the true fan. If I could have purchased these discs legitimately, believe me--I would have. If they're ever made available legitimately, I'll buy 'em again. I love paying my favorite artists for their work just as much as I love being paid for my own.

But if some guy in the back room of my favorite record store--or maybe even a guy like Kravitz on ebay--has a CD of John Hiatt b-sides for sale, I'm forking out the dough.

This is a thorny issue, and my ramblings have barely scratched the surface. I just didn't want Deborah's post to be the last word on the subject.