People are missing an essential ingredient of Bulmer's conduct on this thread. He is not paying the royalties he owes to the artists when he does release these CDs. He is indeed being both illegal and immoral, and several of his companies have been shut down as a result, but he always rises from the ashes with a new company which is a thinly-disguised version of the old one(s).

Here is the situation as I understand it:

Nic sold the rights to his albums for money--and for an agreement that he would receive royalties.

Bulmer acquired the rights after the original owner (whom Nic trusted) went out of business (and then passed away).

Bulmer sat on the albums for years, falsely claiming that there was a vast stockpile of vinyl copies remaining, and that when that stockpile was exhausted he would reissue on CD.

So far, nothing done by either side is illegal, but you could argue that Bulmer was being pretty mean, which is the argument the so-called "Nic Jones Camp" generally makes.

BUT:

Eventually Bulmer issues cheap CD-R copies, labeled as though they were commercially pressed CDs, and pays no royalties to the artists.

NOW, he has both broken the law (not paying royalties) and engaged in questionable business practices (labeling homemade CD-Rs as CDs).

So in conclusion, Bulmer is in some of his dealings a mean, deceitful, lawbeaker and a swindler. I understand that he's not a monster, that he has friends in the folk world, etc. But at least in some cases he has done very bad things. As a result he faces constant lawsuits and is under several forms of legal censure--all of which is detailed in the Bulmer/Celtic Music threads.

Most people who know the situation think that it is partly because of these legal battles that he issues a CDR every now and then--he needs a quick infusion of cash to defend himself from a lawsuit. So if you buy these CDRs, you are probably adding money to his legal defense fund so that he can continue to avoid paying royalties.

That's the full argument. Whether the "Nic Jones camp" has been disingenuous is another argument, which I'm not prepared to enter. I guess I'd be identified, if not as a NJC member, at least as a sympathizer with their cause. While I would like to see all his albums reissued (which may not be Nic's position--I don't know), I'd like it to be on real factory-pressed CDs, with high-quality reproduction of booklets, etc, and legal so that Nic gets royalties.