There was a recent article on digitalmusicnews.com about a growing counterfeit trend in the CD and vinyl formats. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it appears that up to 25% of all CD sales purchased from Amazon are fake. Interesting. There also appears to be a problem with counterfeit items on eBay and Alibaba.
It also appears that this is a growing trend in the vinyl industry, too. One company, Tommy Boy Records, are finding that, not only are there fake records in their catalogue, but they are also finding counterfeit records on titles that haven’t even been produced! Wow!
So where are the fakes coming from? A spokesman for Alliance Entertainment said that there is a very serious threat from China, which is now into producing vinyl records. Unfortunately for their part, Amazon has done nothing but give lip service to the problem. So if you plan to purchase CD's or vinyl online, the old adage still applies: “Buyer Beware!”