Information From FTD

Nothing should be PD and the law needs to be changed. Bootlegs of unreleased recordings are one thing but blatant copies of work that has taken much time to master and mix is another thing altogether. I will await the FTD release.

While the material isnt the greatest, Elvis was in such great voice in 1960, I will buy the FTD when it comes out. I don't buy or support bootlegs or independent labels of any kind.

Not interested in buying a future FTD pack on GI Blues outtakes !!! Maybe they only let us have 2 or 3 outtakes of each song....like they ripped us off with GGGirls or BHawai FTD CD (one or two...!!) Thanks but thks Ernst. Again you're too late !

Fortis - they don't HAVE anything else to release on GGG ! As for Blue Hawaii FTD, 56 tracks on a double CD is hardly a rip-off for something no one forces you to buy.

Hi Steve, I do respect your decision not to support bootleg- or/and independent labels. No problem. But in all honesty, hadn't it been for the Memphis Recording Service, for example the DVD "Tupelo's Own Elvis Presley " with the Tupelo 1956 concert, never would have seen the light of day IMHO.(just to name one ) As far as bootlegs (in general) are concerned : I remember very well, being a teenager and even a twen, one of the friends having enough money in those days to buy a record ( be it Elvis or another artist) willingly lent us the platter and we all took copies of it on a cassette-recorder ! As far as I know, this was also a form of "bootlegging", wasn't it ? , and this happened all over the world.The composers and authors never saw a dime of their rights, but most of us sometimes did not have the money to buy a 45rpm ( and an EP or LP was a complete dream come true, but mostly only after saving very hard for a rather long time ! Best regards. Always El.

I agree with ttwise and totally disagree with Fortis. RCA originally owned all Elvis' material. They where the ones who paid for the musicians, the copyrights, engineers, recording studios etc etc. The bootleggers don't have to pay for anything, except for the manufacturing costs. You can not compare releases from a company that has to obey the laws (SONY) to someone who don't care about the copyright laws and can release whatever they want. I support the excellent work of Roger and Ernst.

Nice from FTD. Now we all know what to expect. After only 6 sentences. Is it so hard to communicate with the fans more often?

Benny you have a point. Even I recorded Elvis on cassette when I saw him in concert but I never sold any of it. The reason I wont support them anymore, is several. One, I found out with so many things I have bought in the past, that sooner or later they get released on the legit label. I cringe when I think of all the studio outtake bootleg Lps I spent hundreds of dollars on (think Behind Closed Doors, From Beach to Bayou, even 1969 shows ,etc) that have now been released. Two, how often do I really play these releases? For the most part I play them once, maybe twice and put them on the shelf. I'm not a person who enjoys countless outtakes & studio banter for any length of time. Just my preference to play the 'real' masters when I want to hear Elvis. Yes I did buy the Tupelo's Own package. Played it once.

Thanks Ernst and Roger for the information, going back to the three tracks is the ultimate quality I'll be waiting for the FTD release which I'm sure will be this year.

If FTD are going to include everything as they state, then we must be in for a 4CD set, Unless they mean everything that hasn't already been released.

I have heard for quite awhile that the GI Blues set was going to be a two volume release much like Jailhouse Rock was. I have also heard that the first volume was going to be released this summer with the second one in the winter. Looks like MRS is just trying to beat Ernst to the punch. It'll be interesting to see how all this plays out - especially with the outtakes. Oh, I've also heard that Ernst and co. are working on a single disc release of the Flaming Star sessions. Let's see if Ernst keeps the line of communication open as he promised to do from now on.

Steve, I understand perfectly your vision and reasons. As far as i'm personally concerned : it's due to the fact I've been a recording (not so important) artist myself and liked the atmosphere, studio-banter, etc... that I really like all the outtakes and rehearsels of our man. So you see, we both have a good reason for liking or not liking, with mutual understanding and respecting our points of view. Take care . Always El.

I have been pondering this thought ever since I heard of the forthcoming Memphis Recording Service package. I could not understand how they thought that the out-takes would be out of copyright in Europe. This is why their package containing 1956 studio recordings had to be withdrawn and re-issued with a much shorter track listing. The laws of what is in the public domain are very specific. People think they they can take recent Sony remasters of songs that are pre-1961 and release them as their own, very simply, they cannot. People buy releases from budget labels like Hallmark and are surprised to find the quality is not equal to the latest Sony releases. Most of these companies produce CDs with little thought or imagination but I would not put MRS in this catagory. They do release material with the fans in mind and remember that if not for Joseph, we would probably not have the Tupelo footage in our collections. The European copyright law needs changing urgently, but we have been told that everything will remain as it is. Cliff Richard fought very hard to get it extended to the length of time awarded to the songwriters, but to no avail. The media did not get behind him, they just used it as another chance to ridicule him, mainly with regard to his vast fortunes. They ignored the comments that he made all along about fellow recording artists who do not have much money and used the royalties as a form of pension.

In general, Steve V, I agree with you as far as the listening to CDs go. In my case (howver), I spend a lot of time driving. So, sitting all alone, I have the time to listen to outtakes every now and then. The same goes for the concerts. RCA -> Sony -> FTD took almost 3 decades to finalize Jailhouse Rock, so it is understandable that the bootleggers have a market. I would also prefer the legits, but ... And also I know a lot will never be legit anyway. Knowing for sure what FTD will provide will have my pref. Like in this case GI Blues. By the way I enjoyed the Tupelo concert and watched it several times.

Tony C, Natha, I agree with you guys, MRS is a good label, but I'll also buy the FTD-release as soon as it becomes available, like I wrote yesterday (topic " G.I Blues, The Cafe Europa Sessions" ). Always El.

Great news, but expected for 2011. Nice to have the confirmation though. So now what do we need the bootleggers for?

Tornado, your comments show how ignorant you are when it comes to bootlegs. Many bootlegs over the years have been released with material not available anywhere, and to this day, some bootlegs contain unreleased material. For the fans who want everything, bootlegs are still worth their weight in gold.

The bootleggers also give the official powers that be a kick up the backside with regard to getting things released. The ever thriving bootleg market shows that there is still a demand for the still unreleased recordings. I am sure that privately both Ernst and Roger would acknowledge the debt Elvis recorded legacy owes to these people, although they would never be allowed to say such a thing in public.

i'm a collector of ftd cd so as long they make this records i will be there buying them. keep up the great jobb your doing and keep elvis music alive. i only wish they could release more cd every year i just can't get enough

It so happened that I don't care for bootlegs. Beside they're illegal. Yes, that exists too. Composers get nothing and what do we miss really? Certainly not the best of Elvis. In the 80's maybe they made sense, since RCA never cared for Elvis' catalog. Now, it's an entirely different story. I prefer to save my money for the real stuff and the best sources possible. Maybe just a matter of point of view and ethical scale too...

Ethics tornado??? Now thats funny, charging $1000 for a box set with over 3 dozen bugs, and mistakes is really ethical isn't?? Saturating Elvis catalogue and turning it into a joke is ethical isn't?? I prefer too look at the whole picture, I buy from all sources, Sony, Bootlegs, etc etc. As long as it is unreleased, and bootlegs still release great stuuff, including the Final Curtain box set, I will buy it. And besides Elvis record company know darn well who makes these bootlegs, why dont they stop them???

For Heaven's sake, Ernst, why don't you give us--please-- the dates of release of those missing outtakes of HGTArt, PromLand, EPBlvd and MBlue albums. Why so secretive ? Don't understand it; get some marketing seminar to put you back on track man. Besides, this topic could involve some zesty lawyers, and for a long, very long time with Sony/BMG not necessarily winning those cases... Don't be so greedy.

I'm surprised that Ernst makes any comments at all towards Elvis fans when I consider the way he is spoken to and about by certain members of the Elvis fan world.

Thank God for those bootleggers, Tony...You can clearly see that FTD Team have been making marketing mistake upon mistake...so many ways...and thereby deprived Sony from many profits/revenue. In our opinion, FTD has been set up as an independant company (in DK? UK? NL?) paying a franchise fee from sales to EPE or Sony...and doing a lousy job. They will ultimately run out of (older) fans who would have bought in time many many more releases that could have been made by FTD or Sony or BMG. Too late and not well organized or planned, and terrible marketing strategy... And never press releases on time to let us know what's coming up in the next 6 months (poor professionalism folks). The only positive comment I want to make: their quality and sometimes artwork and selection is OK. Sorry. We believe we are entitled to give our personal opinion here, right fans ?!

Marketing mistakes, when? The FTD label does not have any marketing, their product is sold by mail order to Elvis fans via Elvis fan organisations. Press releases being late, how can a press release be late when a date for such a press release was never stated? As for what we have to look forward to in the next six months, I'm happy to wait and hear what they have ready for us. I'm just greatful to be still getting new releases so long after 1977.