What is a bootleg?
 

Well obviously I'm aware of what a bootleg is. A few years ago I got some game scores for a pretty decent price, and only now I realized that they're most likely bootleg CDs. So my question is: what exactly qualifies my CDs as bootlegs? All the packaging and artwork and booklets included were there, and the discs themselves look okay. Why aren't these "legit?" And if it's illegal, how did the seller obtain the liner notes and artwork and all that? Honestly I thought a bootleg was someone just burning a copy of an official disc and then making some makeshift label. If the online store managed to acquire the packaging and everything that's included with the CD anyway, why is it considered counterfeit? I never really gave this idea much thought till now.

It is quite simple. Anything that wasn't authorized by the original copyright holders is a bootleg.

Did you know that bootleggers are perfectly capable of printing their own booklets and traycards? All they need to do is scan the original artwork.

Sometimes they even try to remove all mention of the copyright holders:

http://www.bigblah.net/upload/82961209816275.jpg

http://www.bigblah.net/upload/83051209817460b.jpg

I believe it was mentioned that the bootlegger won't have access to the original sound data and as far as audio quality goes you'll be getting a copy despite the pretty packaging. Can someone confirm this?

Nowadays lossless rips are easily obtained, so that doesn't really apply anymore.

Why are you guys acting like this is some big mystery?

If you have access to the "original sound data" then you do, but most people, you know, don't. Still that hardly matters since you can just grab the music 1:1 from the disc anyway - then it's just a matter of the quality of your CD press.

Seems like it's more work to make a convincing forgery than actually selling the legitimate product in the first place, especially when it comes to reproducing the booklets and things inside the CD case. Dang that sucks.

The whole point of buying a legit album is to get the real deal and to support the artist(s) with your cash. Bootlegs have no ties to the original artists; you're basically just paying some wanker for a copy, which you could find online for free. It sucks because a lot of people new to VGM end up with bootleg albums.