I always follow the DB / CM threads as they provide great (if somewhay voyeuristic) entertainment. I'm not a DB apologist, nor am I hater. I speak only for myself as a music lover.
Could I ask a couple of straightfoward questions, hopefully without getting flamed.

1. It would seem that DB has a long track record (no pun intended) of unfair treatment of artists. If this is the case, why have so many artists signed with him over the years? I dont want to sound churlish, but if I had heard and believed so many bad things about him and his companies, I wouldnt go near his operation.

2. If he truly is such a villain, why do so many label still continue to use him for distribution? (All my Radio Ballads CD re-issues on Topic label carried CM distibution stickers / cards)

3. Finally, if his reputation for dishonesty is well founded, why did so many labels sell their back cataloge to him? These include Trailer / Leader, Black Crow / Rubber, Sweet Folk and Country / Greenwich Village, Mulligan, Broadside, Folk Heritage, Making Waves and probably a lot more too.

As far as I know, DB has never been prosecuted which means either
A. Hes too smart a crook to get caught
or
B. He operates just on the right side of the law.

I suspect the latter to be true, in which case why should he be ANY different from those who run mainstream (ie non folk) labels. Musica history over the last 50 years should have taught us that the "men in suits" will always look after number one. The term music business contains 2 words. We are at risk of overlooking the latter of these as we so love the former.

I have no inside knowlege of how these things work and only base my thoughts on what I read here and in the press, coupled with what musician friends tell me. I hope the above comments dont upset or anger anyone, but I'd be delighted to hear your thoughts....standing back waiting for the assault

Cheers
LL