"Bill Leader had contracts with his artists which no one in their right minds would sign today. This is because circumstances now are entirely different to those prevailing 35 years ago."

That's what I said, too. I also pointed out that judging yeaterday's actions by today's standards is nonsensical. Without people like Bill Leader and Moses Asch there wouldn't be a folk "industry".

This thread's title, if you hadn't noticed, is "morality of collecting".
Slinging mud at Mr. Bulmer, if you feel like it, belongs in a different thread. And, (quoting again)"These recordings have remained unavailable, along with the unbelievably important field recording, for the past quarter century as recounted at length in innumerable threads passim.

This tragedy has precious little to do with this thread's title ..."