Bootlegging in the music business is pretty rampant, and usually the victims -- the artists and record companies -- are left holding the bag.
But the Numero Group, a Chicago company that specializes in reissuing rare finds like last year's "Light on the South Side" project, took a unique approach when they discovered someone was stealing their cheese.
It turns out someone had built a mega-mix of loops, breaks, and vocal snippets using more than 70 Numero releases, and pieced them together into a 40-minute musical narrative that covered seven years of the company's history. But the pirates didn't keep it for personal use -- they pressed it into 12-inch vinyl and distributed it to a handful of DJs and producers.
Numero's lawyers were set to launch a cease and desist letter when the unforeseen happened -- they got hooked on the mega-mix.
So instead of trying to shut the project down completely, Numero had the vinyl seized from a pressing plant and repurposed it into their own release -- Eccentric Breaks & Beats available in stores in June and online right now.
That's what you call turning the turntables.
