RAVE ON: The Recording Industry Assn. of...

RAVE ON: The Recording Industry Assn. of America is cracking down on “mix-tapes”--pirate cassette compilations made by deejays that are staples for techno-rave fans.

The RIAA, which represents 90% of the companies that make and distribute music domestically, is warning the deejay community against such tapes via letters to trade publications.

“A number of record companies have been more concerned about this matter in the past year,” says RIAA piracy lawyer Jessie Abad. Mix-tapes, he says, are a growing part of the bootleg market that the record industry claims takes a total of more than $350 million annually from “legitimate” business.

Defenders of mix-tapes--which have been around since the disco days--say that the collections provide music and turntable artistry (mixing and scratching) not usually available anywhere else. The rise in the phenomenon has led to it surfacing above ground: In 1992, L.A.-based Moonshine Music launched a series of legitimate, mix-tape-inspired compilations. Moonshine founder Steve Levy says that his success has the major labels “sniffing around.”