Led Zeppelin Pirate Jailed

Led Zeppelin doesn't have a whole lotta love for bootleggers and neither does a Scottish judge as a man convicted of pirating the legendary band's music has been sentenced to 20 months in jail thanks to the testimony of Jimmy Page.

Robert Langley was arrested at following a record fair in Glasgow in 2005 where the UK's version the RIAA seized CDs and DVDs being sold by Langley that included £11,500 of counterfeit Led Zeppelin material, according to the BBC.

He originally challenged the charges but after Jimmy Page testified at his trial he changed his plea to guilty. "The legitimate part is where fans trade music, but once you start packaging it up and you do not know what you are getting, you are breaking the rules legally and morally," said Jimmy Page.

"There are some of these type of recordings where it is just a whirring and you cannot hear the music. If you have something like this that appears legitimate then it is just not right."

A Glasgow Sheriff Court has ordered Langley to serve 20 months in jail after he admitting to three trademark and two copyright infringements.

Credits for the info to Antimusic.com.

Comments

[kalamari]

I'm confused as to whether the copied music was his own live bootleg recordings or copies of LPs :S I would assume it means actual LPs, it's just that the article mentions bootlegging at the start...

[kalamari]

wait, this IS to do with live bootlegs: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/press_releases/led_zeppe lin_guitarist_vs_pirate.html 20 months of jail doesn't make sense, he shouldn't have been making money out of his bootlegs but still...

[juniorfr3ak]

Oh man, I was hoping it'd be a real pirate like ARGH get me Led Zeppelin cd's out of the poop-deck kinda thing

...in any case, this is not cool

[SlashNX]

if hes tricking his consumers into thinkin their buying legit led zep stuff then fair enuf with him being arrested. but if its just a man selling bootlegs which everyone knows is bootlegs then i thinkits a bit harsh! by the sounds of it tho this wasnt anaything to do with led zeppelin claimin the guy had been stealin money from them!

[rifftnstrings]

Awww misleading title.....

[mrbiscuits315]

If it was just bootlegs of live stuff i think 20 months is kinda uptight.

[lyingfromyou118]

No, I don't think Jimmy Page was mad about the money; I think he was mad that this guy was ripping off the fans. Just read about how some of the tracks are just a whirring noise. This guy packaged it up like it was quality, legit, live stuff, which it clearly was not.

[SethMegadefan]

What the hell's "counterfeit Led Zeppelin material"? A cardboard cutout of a Zep DVD case? An optical illusion?
I don't understand this story...

[TK1]

seres that guy right if you ask me. selling fake zeppelin cd's? loser.

[WalrusZach]

I wanted a real pirate

[Aidy Damage]

Well, you know how it goes on Lazytown...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3AzpByR3MvI

[Stop Messin']

Lucky pirate i bet those bootlegs are golden!

[browar]

Someone got jailed for stealing Led Zeppelin songs. Irony?

[Bloodandfire]

Bastard! Good one Jimmy!

Checked

[skydemon666]

headlining news? Oh well, he got what he diserved for stealin zeppelin.

[Life Wasted]

He get's 20 months and Lindsay Lohan get's a day for drugs that's BS

[SethMegadefan]

browar wrote:

Someone got jailed for stealing Led Zeppelin songs. Irony?

Heh, it took a while, but I knew someone would go there.
Seriously, though, what was this pirate doing, exactly? No one seems to precisely know...

[bathroom_gnome]

aww man. I really wanted a pirate, too... =(

[JimmyStradlin33]

Well it must have been fairly serious as it says he had £11,500 of material confiscated. I think it must be more serious than bootlegging

[dirtymexican863]

Led Zeppelin doesn't have a whole lotta love for bootleggers

zing!

[AvengedThrice]

HEY! AIN'T NO PIRATE IN HERE!

[KingSquall802]

WalrusZach :
I wanted a real pirate

Hahaha. Ok im the pirate.

[stone_gossard]

Quargh! Here's me rum?!

[Klayy]

Life Wasted wrote:

He get's 20 months and Lindsay Lohan get's a day for drugs that's BS

+G

[davedoom]

well jail every zep fan i know then - cause we all own bootlegs

[jj3501]

Bloodandfire wrote:

Bastard! Good one Jimmy!

how come when metallica busts people for pirating thier music they're the most hated band on the planet, but when someone else does it, people are totally supportive. i don't get it.

[KileManA7X]

I wanted a real pirate too! Aww mann!!!!

[southern_stylin]

In this case the goods were crap. Metallica's beef was with their fans wanting to listen to music off of their albums.

[Jondy]

at first I was outraged, then I found out he was selling them, and so I say the bastard deserved it.

[trendkill-]

lyingfromyou118 wrote:

No, I don't think Jimmy Page was mad about the money; I think he was mad that this guy was ripping off the fans. Just read about how some of the tracks are just a whirring noise. This guy packaged it up like it was quality, legit, live stuff, which it clearly was not.

thats right

[wpermission]

Rapists get less than 20 months man, that's wack.

[CanCan]

I actually agree with this. He wasn't sharing the band's performances, he was selling them.

[trendkill-]

jj3501 wrote:

Bloodandfire wrote:

Bastard! Good one Jimmy!


how come when metallica busts people for pirating thier music they're the most hated band on the planet, but when someone else does it, people are totally supportive. i don't get it.

he is riping of fans thats y

[PekarGuitar]

jj3501 wrote:

Bloodandfire wrote:

Bastard! Good one Jimmy!


how come when metallica busts people for pirating thier music they're the most hated band on the planet, but when someone else does it, people are totally supportive. i don't get it.

First of all Metallica busts people for pirating the music Zeppelin is busting this guy for pirating illegal video recordings of their concerts and selling them as Zep's real releases like "The Song Remains the Same" or "How the West Was Won." This is way more serious and the guy got what he deserved.

[yawn]

I find it bizarre that this article is too "complicated" for some to understand...

Jimmy Page testified against the guy selling crap-quality bootlegs that were packaged as high-quality, legitimate material. Page supports fans trading music, but he doesn't support ripping others off with crap material (which would look bad on Led Zeppelin's behalf to some).

[dyjaba]

Someone got jailed for stealing Led Zeppelin songs. Irony?

hells yea

Checked.

[rexfloyd94]

My respect for zeppelin went down a bit.

[Guitar_Poet]

20 months for stealing songs? the pirate gets more time than some murderers! geez...

gotta rework this system, eh....

[BlueZephyr]

Aw Jimmy Page always ruins the fun.

[GuitarJunkie]

what he did does sound a kinda shitty...but 20 months is a little much in my opinion. I think a hefty fine and a lotta community service would have gotten the job done.

[Cobalt Blue]

So is it only illegal to SELL a bootleg? or is he just against the fact that he's making money off a shitty recording that's made to look professional?

[tamedrummer]

20 months----its definitely wrong but 20 months in prison for thats not a fair option considering the fact a lot of people dont gte caught for that. I agree with guitar poet-murderers are BAD , bootleggers like this guy cant be in the same league

[jSquard]

if they put this guy in jail for ripping of Led Zeppelin, why is WolfMother still free?

[riffmasterjosh]

at first i thought they were just going after bootleggers which would make me mad. then i realized he's trying to sell bootlegs some of which aren't even all that great. thats just wrong and he gets what he deserves for that. as far as bootlegging goes people should be allowed to trade bootlegs for other bootlegs or share them for free. that part is right but its when u sell them when people take legal action

Checked.

[KileManA7X]

Why do they keep showing the same ol picture of Plant???

[Nirvana-Man]

got what he deserved!

[Nirvana_RATM2]

I agree with what page said , trading is one thing and collecting them that shows a respect for the band. But profiting off something you had no part in is morally wrong.

[Nirvana_RATM2]

jSquard wrote:

if they put this guy in jail for ripping of Led Zeppelin, why is WolfMother still free?

CLASSIC

[Metal_Rich]

juniorfr3ak wrote:

Oh man, I was hoping it'd be a real pirate like ARGH get me Led Zeppelin cd's out of the poop-deck kinda thing

...in any case, this is not cool

XD I expected that kind of pirate at first.

[TheZookeeper]

jSquard wrote:

if they put this guy in jail for ripping of Led Zeppelin, why is WolfMother still free?

LOL

[Agent_00Funk]

20 months wow...Too harsh.

TheZookeeper wrote:

jSquard wrote:

if they put this guy in jail for ripping of Led Zeppelin, why is WolfMother still free?
LOL

LOL niiiice.

[..NEM..]

The first line in that news article made me laugh.

[southern_stylin]

Who the hell is Wolf Mother? Man, somebody move this rock.

[guitarman47]

if they put this guy in jail for ripping of Led Zeppelin, why is WolfMother still free?

I TOTALLY AGREE!

[wasp2020]

BlueZephyr wrote:

Aw Jimmy Page always ruins the fun.

There was no fun. The man was selling garbage bootlegs and ripping of fans. How is that fun? Did you even read the article?

[thewho65]

UG needs to work on their front page titles. Well, if they were crap bootlegs, then it really was a lose/lose for bands and the fans.

if they put this guy in jail for ripping of Led Zeppelin, why is WolfMother still free?

Nice one

[WhereArtEsteban]

jj3501 wrote:

Bloodandfire wrote:

Bastard! Good one Jimmy!


how come when metallica busts people for pirating thier music they're the most hated band on the planet, but when someone else does it, people are totally supportive. i don't get it.

If I understand this story correctly, they got the guy who actually put the bootlegs out their...
Metallica got the people who downloaded the bootlegs.

[southern_stylin]

Metallica got what they deserved. You don't screw your own fans like that. And this guy deserves worse.

[FiveStarMotel]

YARRR Boogie WIth Stu ARRRRR MATEYS!!

Checked.d

[cds+stereo=life]

could anyone get through that terrible grammar?

[Istivar]

Lol how stupid. Led Zeppelin are filthy stinkin rich and some guy goes to jail for 20 months for not adding to their millions and millions already in the bank.

[verona_bassist]

mebbe this guy just did this to meet jimmy page..(im joking)..but..yeah, as someone said already, 20 months is kinda a lot for some bootleg material..here in mexico, we have a lot of bootleg stuff EVERYWHERE, but only cuz the imported stuff like cd's are expensive as hell..funny article title btw

Istivar wrote:

Lol how stupid. Led Zeppelin are filthy stinkin rich and some guy goes to jail for 20 months for not adding to their millions and millions already in the bank.

That's how the world works, unfortunately

rifftnstrings wrote:

Awww misleading title.....

...?

Checked.....?

[diaspora]

juniorfr3ak wrote:

Oh man, I was hoping it'd be a real pirate like ARGH get me Led Zeppelin cd's out of the poop-deck kinda thing

...in any case, this is not cool

haha, i like you man

[thankyougermany]

Hmmm perhaps if Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones would reconcile their differences and stop being dickheads about it, and have a reunion tour (with John Bonham's son) for the FANS, maybe people wouldn't have to steal the music to hear it. That's just my $0.02.

[JS5150]

I am against pirating music, but 20 months seems excesive.

[Kadaj]

Most awesome title ever, thread does not deliver however.

Pirates and Led Zeppelin, quite possible the 2 most awesome things ever.

[The Master Plan]

Man that bites 20 months, also 1 question was he in court with Jimmy Page? If so that'd be cool to meet Page.

[JesusVSMegaman]

juniorfr3ak wrote:

Oh man, I was hoping it'd be a real pirate like ARGH get me Led Zeppelin cd's out of the poop-deck kinda thing

...in any case, this is not cool

lol..... Bummer for that dude =(
Pirates and Zep, 2 most coolest things.... wondr if they were eating pie..

[ticklemeemo]

That's not cool. If the only copying going on was teenagers copying cds for their friends, it wouldn't be that bad. I mean, I wouldn't care if it was me. But this guy is taking money from not only Zeppelin, but the sound techs and producers as well. Page likely doesn't need any more money, but those people that worked on the album probably aren't bazillionaires.

[mikr_guitar]

the thing is it's not fair for the people who think that they're buying actual stuff and it's not.. real. so yep.

[7thhell]

A lot of these guys try to sell thier stuff on ebay. Let torrents be free for the public. Don't try to sell them. Torrents are not for sale people. They are shared. If you do the torrent thing, fine, but don't try to turn it around to put cash in your pocket. If you like it, then go buy it.

[megaslayer87]

how come when metallica busts people for pirating thier music they're the most hated band on the planet, but when someone else does it, people are totally supportive. i don't get it.

i actually agreed with metallica on that issue. and who are we to say "Metallica has enough money". the point is, the artist should have complete controll of their art, reguardless how much money they have, it doesnt matter if there loaded or broke, they made the music, they deserve whatever money they make from it. same with zeppelin and jimmy page

thankyougermany wrote:

Hmmm perhaps if Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones would reconcile their differences and stop being dickheads about it, and have a reunion tour (with John Bonham's son) for the FANS, maybe people wouldn't have to steal the music to hear it. That's just my $0.02.

As a fan, I'm quite happy that they aren't touring. Plant just can't sing the old Zep stuff like he used to.

Besides that, are people reading the article? Page isn't upset about "losing his money", he's upset that people could be getting ripped off by paying for low-quality bootlegs that are passed of as legit Zep products.

Checkeroo

[megaslayer87]

im in complete agreement with psychodelia. theres a reason there not doing tours. Plant cant hardly sing anymore, Page cant hardly play anymore, John Bonham is dead, and they know it wouldnt hold a candle to what "Led Zeppelin" was. Its kinda like ozzy feels about makin a new sabbath record... theres no way it would compare to their old material

[Havenspear]

Damn, he made bank on those bootlegs...Wow.

[cannster]

don't mess with zep, man...they kick too much ass; you'll never win

[-xCaMRocKx-]

browar wrote:

Someone got jailed for stealing Led Zeppelin songs. Irony?

ohh you totally went there! *click* lol

[jsav4589]

jj3501 wrote:

Bloodandfire wrote:

Bastard! Good one Jimmy!


how come when metallica busts people for pirating thier music they're the most hated band on the planet, but when someone else does it, people are totally supportive. i don't get it.

totally agreeing on that. i dont get how metallica, a band just as big as led zeppelin, does the same thing 7 years ago and theyre most hated and everyone smashes theyre cds and defend the downloaders then they do this and everyones like yea **** that guy, stealing money from led zeppelin, you go jimmy. some people just dont even deserve to listen to music you know.

[metalhead_99801]

cds+stereo=life wrote:

could anyone get through that terrible grammar?

i was wondering when someone else would notice that...

[backtobasic]

I've been happy with the articles that have been coming out lately. Nice job UG team!

[whoismilan]

jj3501how come when metallica busts people for pirating thier music they're the most hated band on the planet, but when someone else does it, people are totally supportive. i don't get it.

Because that was not about someone making money by selling their stuff (in very low quality, even), it was about fans sharing songs with other fans (or "trading" as Jimmy Page called it in this article).

[RockerNo.21]

I agree with 'jsav4589' and 'jj3501' about Metallica doing the same thing as Led Leppelin but getting trashed for it instead. How can metallica get f***ed for suing and Led Zeppelin get praised? Its just bullsh**

[Silky Smooth]

The Metallica thing and this are very very different in nature. Pay attention to what was said here.

Jimmy page does not care if people are trading music... He does cares that the people who hear their music be it a CD or mp3 are getting REAL zep stuff not fakes or un listenable copies sold for PROFIT.

He probably has the wits to know how many new listeners you can grab by getting songs online be it free or not. Thats why so many people turned on metallica. You have a band thats richer then just about anyone and they went nuts trying to shut down people for trading their mp3's.

The guy selling the Zep was trying to make a profit on horrible quality material which IS wrong. Metallica was pissing and moaning about people just trading mp3's it's a totally different beast. I can see where Jimmy is coming from 100%

[Decembero]

Life Wasted wrote:

He get's 20 months and Lindsay Lohan get's a day for drugs that's BS

+1 THANK YOU. And why do people STILL bring Metallica into these topics, GET OVER IT.

[olithebass]

yahaaaaargh me maytey. he just walked the plank!

Ch-ch-ch-checked.

[joeybones]

if your music is as good as led zeppelin's, how do you not expect to be pirated?

[Limaj_daas]

I would consider my band to be really amazing if my CDs were pirated... i mean lik... damn these guys break the law to spread my stuff! i wouldn't sue the dude.... well unless he was making a profit from it. then i would rape his ass.

[HeavenlyVirus]

I would have been sitting in the court room saying, "OMFG that's Jimmy Page!!! Can I shake your hand before you send me to jail?!?!"

[RockInPeaceDime]

downloading illegally and bootlegging is one thing...selling them to make a profit for yourself is another.

[Huntingtoner]

wut led zep did here was wut 'tallica should've done

they went after the source of the problem which was the guy selling bad bootlegs

metallica, on the other hand, didnt try to find the guy who put the unfinished copy of 'i, dissapear' on napster but went after napster as a whole

urgh...oh well, i still love both bands!!!

[Partyboy2k05]

I don't understand why people are getting mad about this. Several people have it right on here. This guy had bootlegs, (jimmy didn't have too much against that) but this guy was selling them, not just sharing them, and they turned out to be real crappy copies to begin with.

So basically what this guy was running was a scam. Now why 20 months? Ok, let me put it in perspective. This guy originally pleaded not guilty, so that means usually not matter what, your sentence will be higher. Then when Page testified, he changed his mind and pleaded guilty which probably lead to his 20 month sentence. Plus 11,500 euros of crap bootlegs he was intending to sell.

/Check.

[Tele Echoes]

I once jailed a pirate....once you`ve housed one, you`ll never get the smell out

[Set-Abominae]

jSquard wrote:

if they put this guy in jail for ripping of Led Zeppelin, why is WolfMother still free?

Lol touche, salesman.

[thankyougermany]

[quote="Psychodelia"]As a fan, I'm quite happy that they aren't touring. Plant just can't sing the old Zep stuff like he used to.

Besides that, are people reading the article? Page isn't upset about "losing his money", he's upset that people could be getting ripped off by paying for low-quality bootlegs that are passed of as legit Zep products.

Checkeroo[/quote]

Well I'd like to see them, even if Plant completely sucks, seeing as I wasn't born until 13 years after Zep's last tour.

[zapatista89]

juniorfr3ak wrote:

Oh man, I was hoping it'd be a real pirate like ARGH get me Led Zeppelin cd's out of the poop-deck kinda thing

...in any case, this is not cool

that was his sales pitch

[fretsonfire74]

mrbiscuits315 wrote:

If it was just bootlegs of live stuff i think 20 months is kinda uptight.

it was £11,500 worth of stuff!

[bigal224]

does that mean jimmy page is ok with people file sharing his songs?! if you ask me that sounds quite generous

[Tummaenkeli]

Oh, I just real every comment.
The majority seem to have expected an article like:

'Captain Pegleg Pete from the hazy moors of Scotland was charged 50 gold dubloons for boarding and ransacking a Led Zeppelin ship. He was sentenced to 1 month in jail, however, after refusing make any statement other than, "Arr..." or asking for whisky he was given another 19.'

[99percent]

well serves him right

[MXFNCK]

browar :
Someone got jailed for stealing Led Zeppelin songs. Irony?

made my day

[dimebagsmygod]

One thing is to download music free, but selling it on is just showing a hell of disrespect!

[RockDragon]

gwitersnamps wrote:

Because Jimmy Page really hasn't made enough money off of the music of black blues musicians, so he has to sue others to feel fulfilled.

A**hole.

You sir, are a fool. Yeah, Page ripped some stuff from blues guys, but the Zeppelin versions are so far removed from the originals that it's fair to give him credit.

Besides Zeppelins best stuff - Stairway, Achilles, is completely original, so they're still better than anyone else.

And just to echo a few other people, the scenario between this and Metallica is completely different - do people not read the articles properly?

Checked.

[Hamsterboy420]

for anyone who hasn't figured it out. page didn't sue the guy. he just testified at his trial.

[keavader]

juniorfr3ak wrote:

Oh man, I was hoping it'd be a real pirate like ARGH get me Led Zeppelin cd's out of the poop-deck kinda thing

...in any case, this is not cool

Hahahahahaha! me too.
But anyways yeah, i think that one guy up there was right that he got 20 months for this and lindsay lohan got a day for DUI and posession of marijuana.

[Nybb]

browar :
Someone got jailed for stealing Led Zeppelin songs. Irony?

Win.


But seriously, yes he should be punished for trying to make money for himself off of imitation products, but I think over a year and a half of jail time is a little bit ridiculous.

Checked.

[Gh.]

So is it only illegal to SELL a bootleg? or is he just against the fact that he's making money off a shitty recording that's made to look professional?

Both, my friend. Page supports bootleg exchange between fans, not selling, especially the shitty ones.

Lol how stupid. Led Zeppelin are filthy stinkin rich and some guy goes to jail for 20 months for not adding to their millions and millions already in the bank.

As far as I can understand the point of the whole case is selling 'recordings where it is just a whirring and you cannot hear the music'.

ghostofhendrix wrote:

jj3501 wrote:

Bloodandfire wrote:

Bastard! Good one Jimmy!


how come when metallica busts people for pirating thier music they're the most hated band on the planet, but when someone else does it, people are totally supportive. i don't get it.
I can't beleive u even asked that question...Because evry1 likes Led Zep and they inspired generations of musicians... Sure Metallica inspired people but noone really likes em any more

I don't like Zeppelin

[Ned_Gerblansky]

I seen it in the Sunday Post last year, the guy wasn't ripping anyone off. He was making a living selling rare bootlegs to fans. If you can't tell the difference between a bootleg and an official dvd then you're probably retarded. Anyway, it wasn't just Led Zep, the guy was selling dvd's by all different artists, the dude just had a passion for live music and wanted other fans to hear it. Jimmy Page doesn't want them to hear it because it isn't mixed and produced to his high standards. The more bootleggers they clamp down on the less chance you'll have of hearing most classic concerts. I only hope they give the confiscated cd's to Page and he uses them to make proper official records of their old gigs so future generations can enjoy them. Anyway, we don't need bootleggers now we have torrents!

[jpgr1987]

My Dad did it during the 60's but he got arrested during Operation Moonbeam (crackdown on bootlegged live performances,) he had a lot of stuff on Dylan and Cream. When they brought out some of Dylans live shows officially, my Dad claimed they were shite compared to the stuff he had.

[captmorgan_36]

I saw Page enter the Sheriff court when I was paying my fine. Apparently the court was packed with Sheriff's and advocates in the public gallery getting a glimpse of him and hearing his testimony. Rock rules!

[ihaveatail]

jSquard wrote:

if they put this guy in jail for ripping of Led Zeppelin, why is WolfMother still free?

Cuz they actually played the music. This guy just got crappy recordings of live shows...duh