Post on 03-Jun-2018
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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Rampant Reproduction and DigitalDemocracy Shifting Landscapes ofMusic Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo inBolivia
Henry Stobart
This article examines the transformation of recorded music production and distribution
in Bolivia that has occurred in response to the rise and growing democratisation of
digital technology especially over the past decade It charts the collapse of the large-scale
record industry due both to high levels of piracy and to its gradual loss of technological
advantage and its replacement by a host of small-scale producers many of which target
emergent low-income markets The dynamics of lsquopiratersquo production and distribution are
examined including the key role of the video compact disc in the escalation of music
piracy It is suggested that national imaginaries as well as economic factors have
underscored Peruvian domination of the large-scale production of pirated music for the
Bolivian market In recent years however dramatic reductions in the cost of
reproduction equipment and optical discs and in turn vendor profits are leading to
more localised and smaller-scale forms of domestic pirate production The downscaling
and localising of both lsquolegitimatersquo and lsquopiratedrsquo record production might be seen to
democratise the music industry giving Bolivian consumers access to an unprecedented
diversity of budget-priced recorded music However the longer-term implications of this
situation for musiciansrsquo livelihoods and particular musical genres remain unclear as
does state policy with regard to the protection of cultural resources and copyright
Keywords Music Piracy National Imaginaries Record Industry Indigenous Music
Video Digital Technology Video Compact Disc Bolivia
Henry Stobart is Senior Lecturer in the Music Department of Royal Holloway University of London He has
published widely on the music of the Bolivian Andes His former work primarily focused on rural indigenous
perspectives but more recent research stresses wider cultural politics and the role of new digital technologies
His books include the monograph Music and the Poetics of Production in the Bolivian Andes (Ashgate 2006) and
several edited volumes The New (Ethno)musicologies (Scarecrow 2008) Knowledge and Learning in the Andes
Ethnographic Perspectives (co-edited with Rosaleen Howard Liverpool University Press 2002) and Sound (co-
edited with Patricia Kruth Cambridge University Press 2000) Correspondence to Henry Stobart RoyalHolloway University of London Egham Surrey TW20 0EX UK Email hstobartrhulacuk
Ethnomusicology Forum
Vol 19 No 1 June 2010 pp 27 56
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A striking characteristic of the so-called lsquodigital agersquo is the almost effortless capability it
provides to create multiple identical copies a phenomenon that has fundamental
implications for the status of the copy and copyright1 Until recently mass
reproduction was the prerogative of the owners of costly equipment acquired through
high-capital investment the so-called manufacturing industries In the case of therecord industry this technological advantage went hand in hand with legal
mechanisms such as copyright and agreements ensuring control over products
artists promotion and distribution (Leyshon 2001 52) But with the rise of digital
technology and the democratisation of replication this permits the record industryrsquos
technological advantage is evaporating All around the world artists are increasingly
producing their own recordings often with relatively cheap digital equipment and
using them sometimes in conjunction with creative new forms of distribution to
promote live concerts and generate other income streams In turn large-scale record
labels with high overheads and expensive products are in many cases becomingprogressively more redundant According to several commentators the record
industry as we have known it is in terminal decline (Knopper 2009 Kusek and
Leonhard 2005 Lebrecht 2008) Yet seemingly paradoxically lsquomusic itself is in fact
more popular more diverse and is being listened to by more people than everrsquo (Gordon
2008 117)
In the lsquoglobal northrsquo2 the woes of the record industry reflect on the one hand its
partial loss of control over replication especially in the form of MP3 music files
circulated via the Internet and on the other the end of the compact disc (CD)
bonanza This highly priced format had enabled certain areas of the record business to
reap vast profits not only from new productions where lsquothe payoff for a successfulalbum was spectacularly lucrativersquo (Gordon 2008 117) but also from the re-release at
little cost to themselves of classic LP recordings3 CD sales rose exponentially from the
mid-1980s peaking in 2000 when an estimated 942 million units were sold in the
United States alone (Joyce 2006) Since this time the CD market of the north has
progressively declined in part giving way to digital downloads (Davies 2008 Joyce
2006) However in many parts of the lsquoglobal southrsquo where Internet connectivity
remains limited the period since the turn of the millennium (and in Chinarsquos case
somewhat earlier) has in contrast been marked by an explosion in the production
replication marketing and availability of music discsYet the optical disc format that has taken precedence in poorer regions of the world
has often been the video compact disc (VCD) a cheap technology that enables video to
be digitally recorded on to CD discs (Langlois 2009 Morcom 2008) Introduced in
1993 initially by Philips and Sony the industry realised that the VCD would quickly be
eclipsed by the greatly superior capacity and picture quality of the DVD4 which was
shortly to be released on to the market Thus rather than further develop this
essentially doomed new format in the lsquoglobal northrsquo Philips and Sony decided to launch
it in China a decision that was to reap huge profits due to their control over the VCD
chip patent (Wang 2003 50 1) According to R Todd King in China the VCD achieved
the fastest and deepest growth of any technology in history yet it was treated as lsquoa
28 H Stobart
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technology that was fit for a poor cousin in laggard developing countries instead of
cutting edge economiesrsquo (quoted in Wang 2003 50)
Key to the VCDrsquos phenomenal growth was the low cost of reproduction equipment
Chinese manufacturers discovered how to make VCD players by converting CD audio
players resulting in immense expansion of profits and production so that by 1998some 500 manufacturers were operating in China alone (Wang 2003 51) With such
developments in large-scale manufacturing the impact of the Asian VCD explosion
gradually began to resonate in other parts of the global south such as Latin America
especially from the early years of the new millennium But another key characteristic of
the VCD which has accompanied it on its global expansion has been its intimate
association with unlicensed copying or so-called lsquopiracy rsquo In such regions as Latin
America lsquopiracy rsquo was already highly developed well before the arrival of the VCD but I
wish to suggest that the rampant reproduction of recorded music and film since the
arrival of this (increasingly DVD-compatible) digital video format has been of a new magnitude It may also be seen to have particular consequences for musicrsquos production
distribution and reception
Music lsquopiracy rsquo has aroused a great deal of debate in recent years especially in the
context of music file-sharing over the Internet (Knopper 2009 Lessig 2004) Discussion
often polarises into viewing lsquopiracy rsquo either on the one hand as insidious criminal
activity that threatens musiciansrsquo livelihoods musical creativity and the production of
culture or on the other as a legitimate and democratic struggle against an excessively
powerful record industry that for too long has dominated musical culture and
creativity constraining both the agency of musicians and consumer access Both
perspectives as Rudi Moffat has pointed out tend to claim lsquothe mantle of resistancersquo asaggrieved parties defending themselves against the superior forces of respectively lsquoa
veritable tsunami of technology-driven piracy rsquo or lsquoglobal corporate dominationrsquo
(Moffat 2008 1) While both positions clearly include elements of truth neither
adequately represents the complexity of lived social relations or the diverse dynamics of
musical production and consumption in its broadest sense of which for example
commodified music forms just one aspect Also these opposing discourses in which
particular actors are respectively cast as heroes or villains tend to invoke forms of
language and imaginaries that further polarise subject positions and challenge the
potential for mutual understanding and cooperation The use of the word lsquopiracy rsquo inreference to unlicensed copying is itself a good example as it lsquoconjures images of sea-
faring blood-thirsty brigands who terrorise the innocent and are devoid of moral
scruples and links them to their supposed [terrorist] cousins who shoot down
civilian airliners today rsquo (Story Darch and Halbert 2006 72 after Govil 2004)
But lsquopiracy rsquo may also carry positive connotations The individuals involved in
facilitating access to unlicensed music at greatly reduced costs are sometimes presented
as the Robin Hoods of the digital age (cf Ochoa and Yudice 2002 6) My use of the term
lsquopiracy rsquo to convey the idea of unlicensed copying does not carry any implicit value
judgement Rather than supporting any particular subject position my intention is to
use ethnography to highlight the dilemmas faced by the various actors and interest
Ethnomusicology Forum 29
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groups be they musicians record producers copyright enforcers royalty payment
societies state officials or pirate producers suppliers and vendors Indeed in most
cases my encounters with these various individuals led me to experience a sense of
empathy for their diverse predicaments
Bolivia A Striking Case study
This paper considers the case of Bolivia a land-locked country at the heart of South
America which is typically identified as the poorest (per capita) most unequal and
most indigenous country of the region According to the World Bank it also
possesses one of the most informal economies of the world (67 of total economy)
second only to Georgia5 Bolivia provides a striking case study given the almost
complete collapse of its large-scale and long-established national record industry
and exodus of the transnational labels due to the effects of piracy6 The first part of
the essay charts this process and shows how musical production is now in the hands
of a mass of small-scale low-budget and largely informal labels Their releases are
often aimed at the tastes of an emergent low-income and more indigenous market
and prices compete with those of pirated products Ubiquitous piracy means that
sales scarcely recoup production costs and recordings are increasingly funded by the
artists themselves and primarily serve to attract live engagements The paper then
focuses on the dynamics of recorded music piracy in Bolivia which has among the
highest levels in Latin America probably akin to those of Peru for which the
International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) estimated 2008 figures of 98
(IIPA 2009 249)7 But unlike for example Mexico or Peru Bolivia has not been alarge manufacturer or exporter of pirated music Instead much of the pirated music
consumed in the country was imported from Peru even though the original
recording was often produced in Bolivia Drawing on the testimonies of lsquopiratersquo
vendors and suppliers principally in the Bolivian highland cities of Sucre
Cochabamba Potosı La Paz and the Peruvian border town of Desaguadero I
examine the shifting economics and politics of circulation It is argued that although
economic dominance and nationalist imaginaries have underscored Peruvian control
of the Bolivian market for pirated music dramatic reductions in the cost of
Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced reproduction equipment and raw materials are leading to increased localisation of production in Bolivia This
growing decentralisation competition and challenge to Peruvian suppliers
especially since the emergence of the VCD format has led to reduced costs for
consumers massive volumes of disc reproduction and the adoption of alternative
market strategies
It is notable that the government of lsquoindigenousrsquo president Evo Morales which was
inaugurated in January 2006 and has huge popular support (gaining over 64 of the
vote when re-elected in December 2009) has made no significant attempt to
confront music software or book piracy to date However the rise of piracy and
collapse of the large-scale music industry date from well before Moralesrsquo tenure and
30 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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need to be viewed in broader historical context In particular the various phases of
neo-liberal policies since the mid-1980s have been seen to have exacerbated
inequality favoured foreign interests reduced state legitimacy and ultimately ignited
the social movements that swept Morales and his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
Government to power (Kohl and Farthing 2006) Thus the growth of piracy may inpart be seen to reflect social conditions that denied majority access to knowledge
and cultural resources (cf Story Darch and Halbert 2006) and a political climate in
which many Bolivians came to feel that laws were unjust and favoured the rich (Gray
Molina 2008 120)
The research for this paper forms part of an 11-month project (September 2007
August 2008) based in the Bolivian city of Sucre which focused on originario
(indigenous) music video production cultural politics and music piracy in the context
of the Morales Government (the theme of a forthcoming book)8 My discussion here is
largely confined to the broader dynamics economics and practices of piracy that haveaffected almost every area of the music business
Radical Transformations Boliviarsquos Record Industry
First piracy imposed itself and then technology Just imagine what happens whentechnology changes We had been working intensively over 30 years to keep aheadof technology to keep up to date with global sound system technology etc Thensuddenly new digital technology appears At first it didnrsquot look as though it would
have much impact but sure enough it [did] and left us totally buried in the ground
(Laureano Rojas founderowner of Lauro record label interview 24 January 2008)9
There is no long term future for the Bolivian record industry (Eduardo Iban ezpresident of the Association of Record Producers of Bolivia ASBPROFON and
founderowner of Heriba record label)10
Piracy has been widely blamed for the near-complete collapse of Boliviarsquos large-scale
lsquolicitrsquo music recording industry and for the exodus of the multinationals from the
country Recording industry profits in the country in 1995 are estimated to have been in
the region of US$20 million
11
While the three main national labels
DiscolandiaLauro and Heriba enjoyed around US$2 million of these profits the lionsrsquo share
(US$18 million) went to the multinationals operating in the country During the 1990s
these included EMI Music BMG Warner Music Universal Music Sony Music Leader
Music and Santa Fe Records Levels of cassette and VHS piracy were already
considerable in the mid-1990s but according to Andres Lopez (formerly of Sony
Music) the country rsquos 1999 economic crisis escalated piracy levels from around 65 in
1998 to 85 89 in 199912 In the years around the turn of the millennium the national
and international music industry jointly organised a series of campaigns to combat
piracy including television advertisements newspaper articles raids on street vendors
using hired police officers and the mass destruction of pirated discs The industry also
Ethnomusicology Forum 31
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lobbied for the revision of the 1992 copyright law (law 1322) pressured the government
to tackle copyright infringement and censured the state for treating piracy as a lsquosocialrsquo
rather than a lsquolegalrsquo issue13 They also brought several cases against pirate producers to
the courts but the defendants although caught red-handed and admitting guilt
escaped punishment due to legal loopholes They were able to walk free and entirely unpunished because the two-year maximum jail term for copyright infringement (law
1322) is subject to judicial pardon (according to the Blatmann code of penal
procedure) and because fines are not included among the penalties
Despite the creation of a national intellectual property service (SENAPI) in 1999 and
unfulfilled plans to overhaul copyright and create a special police force dedicated to
enforcement (proposed by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in 2001)14 the
government demonstrated little motivation to combat piracy and respond to music
industry pressure This may be attributed in part to the political unpopularity of
enforcement the issues it raises concerning social inequality and its relatively low priority given the political turbulence of the early years of the millennium which
included the so-called Water Wars (2000) and Gas Wars (2003) By 2003 Bolivian
recording industry profits were estimated to have shrunk to around US$06 million15
and all of the major international labels had closed their Bolivian offices and left the
country Both Lauro and Heriba had also ceased trading and in this same year
Discolandia downsized to 20 staff (from 150 in 1995) Today Discolandia a long-
established label that has just celebrated its 50th anniversary is the only major record
label still trading in Bolivia Nonetheless many small low-budget digital studios of
varying degrees of informality are active around the country recording local artists for
regional markets where the low cost of their original products often competes with
pirate prices By contrast the high overheads and the constraints of the formal sector
alongside a desire to exploit international markets and maintain high profits have
meant that the large-scale labels made relatively few concessions on pricing Instead
labels such as Discolandia have focused on the production of high-quality recordings
often incorporating glossy informative booklets which are aimed at exclusive niche
markets able to pay international prices but which are well beyond the budget of the
Bolivian majority
In short the large-scale record industry which formerly dominated the market
through technological advantage enabled by high capital investment has almostentirely vanished In its place we find a multiplicity of small-scale labels or home
studios that use low-cost digital equipment requiring relatively little capital invest-
ment16 As one Cochabamba-based vendor explained
Many groups [now] prefer to record with other labels There are currently labelswhich are not like Lauro Heriba Discolandia or even letrsquos say Sony Music They are not like these [large-scale] labels they are small labels that offer the capacity torecord their product at low cost Very low cost Because in truth with thetechnology that has now appeared a console a simple console with a computeris more than sufficient to get started and to have two good microphones one forthe instrument the other for vocals You donrsquot need any more than this to make a
32 H Stobart
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studio And for a video production cameras and all these things are much cheapermaybe 500 dollars We are talking about a digital workstation which can createquality images and offer a product at lower costs Now all these situations can beoffered (Anonymous interview Cochabamba 24 January 2008)
This description of a small-scale home studio describes almost precisely theequipment used by the originario (indigenous) artistproducer Gregorio Mamani
whose work formed a central focus of my research and with whom I collaborated in the
production of several originario music videos Mamani hails from a rural peasant
community near Macha (see Figure 1) he is constantly constrained economically and
although a very well-known artist among low-income indigenous people of the region
he is almost unknown among the middle classes His work has been subject to high
levels of piracy against which he has long been an outspoken opponent However
piracy was also undoubtedly responsible for the international popularity of a VCD of
his music featuring his son the child star Vichito Mamani This piracy-generatedpopularity led the family to undertake concert tours of Peru Argentina and Bolivia in
2005 06 enabling Mamani to raise the modest capital necessary to set up a digital
studio While Mamanirsquos home studio and label (CEMBOL) is largely dedicated to
producing and promoting his own work a number of other labels primarily produce
the work of others
For example Cochabamba-based CG Records and Banana Records are both
established producers of originario musics and popular electronic genres such as
PERU
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CHILEARGENTINA
PARAGUAY
La Paz
Cusco
OruroCochabamba
Sucre
Potosiacute
Puno
SOUTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
L a k e T i t i c a c a
LakePoopo
A N D E S
M O U N T A I N S
Macha
Desaguadero
Iquique
Juliaca
Santa Cruz
Figure 1 Map showing principal locations mentioned in the text
Ethnomusicology Forum 33
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cumbia for low-income regional markets17 They started out respectively in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing cassettes of regional styles for an emergent mass
market
Formerly we used to produce cassettes Well the people of the countrysideidentified more with their [own] music they purchased this music and didnrsquot buy pirated versions So in our case it was better to dedicate ourselves to the massmarket which was more indigenous as is the case in Bolivia than to addressourselves to the central market that was already occupied by Chayanne Luis Migueland those kinds of foreign music (Wilson Ramirez Banana Records interview
Cochabamba 6 March 2008)
This reported tendency for indigenous people to buy originals would now seem to be
less in evidence with the escalation of mass piracy following the arrival of VCD
technology Although original VCDs of originario musics are far more widely available
than are those of neo-folkloric and international genres consumed by the middleclasses Wilson Ramirez asserts that lsquoof every ten discs sold we sell one original the
pirates [sell] ninersquo The effects of piracy have led to the changing of contractual
agreements between labels and artists where a recording fee is only offered to the most
established and successful artists Other artists are required to pay the label to produce
their work (Banana Records I was told charges US$500) and may be responsible for
their own distribution Labels rarely produce more than 1000 or 2000 copies of a new
release as the window of opportunity for selling originals before the market is flooded
by thousands of pirated copies is often only a matter of days Coordinating single-day
release in all the major markets around the country has thus become a standard strategy to attempt to recoup production costs Few labels survive economically from the music
business alone most combining such work with other occupations or businesses For
example in addition to Banana Records which has grown increasingly unprofitable
Wilson Ramirez owns a radio station Ritmo originally set up to promote his
recordings and a successful bakery chain
A large proportion of small-sized and medium-sized studios might be described as
lsquoinformalrsquo as they neither pay taxes nor register recordings with performersrsquo or
composersrsquo rights organisations or with the national intellectual property service
(SENAPI) Although rights to compositions and recordings can now be registered quitesimply and cheaply originario artistscomposers and producers often believe that a
notated score is required (as was formerly the case) that royalties will not be
forthcoming and that registration will not halt plagiarism With the pro-indigenous
presidency of Evo Morales newly-created originario musiciansrsquo organisations have
begun to confront a perceived sense of exclusion and discrimination by the existing
music royalty collection societies controlled by middle-class artists Such moves which
are often presented as a lsquocultural revolutionrsquo reflect a desire to gain greater equality
recognition and legitimacy Certain small-scale labels have also sought out ways to
become lsquolegitimatersquo and move into the formal sector a widely held aspiration in
Boliviarsquos highly informal economy18 Indeed according to Wilson Ramirez many
34 H Stobart
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
Ethnomusicology Forum 35
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
36 H Stobart
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 37
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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A striking characteristic of the so-called lsquodigital agersquo is the almost effortless capability it
provides to create multiple identical copies a phenomenon that has fundamental
implications for the status of the copy and copyright1 Until recently mass
reproduction was the prerogative of the owners of costly equipment acquired through
high-capital investment the so-called manufacturing industries In the case of therecord industry this technological advantage went hand in hand with legal
mechanisms such as copyright and agreements ensuring control over products
artists promotion and distribution (Leyshon 2001 52) But with the rise of digital
technology and the democratisation of replication this permits the record industryrsquos
technological advantage is evaporating All around the world artists are increasingly
producing their own recordings often with relatively cheap digital equipment and
using them sometimes in conjunction with creative new forms of distribution to
promote live concerts and generate other income streams In turn large-scale record
labels with high overheads and expensive products are in many cases becomingprogressively more redundant According to several commentators the record
industry as we have known it is in terminal decline (Knopper 2009 Kusek and
Leonhard 2005 Lebrecht 2008) Yet seemingly paradoxically lsquomusic itself is in fact
more popular more diverse and is being listened to by more people than everrsquo (Gordon
2008 117)
In the lsquoglobal northrsquo2 the woes of the record industry reflect on the one hand its
partial loss of control over replication especially in the form of MP3 music files
circulated via the Internet and on the other the end of the compact disc (CD)
bonanza This highly priced format had enabled certain areas of the record business to
reap vast profits not only from new productions where lsquothe payoff for a successfulalbum was spectacularly lucrativersquo (Gordon 2008 117) but also from the re-release at
little cost to themselves of classic LP recordings3 CD sales rose exponentially from the
mid-1980s peaking in 2000 when an estimated 942 million units were sold in the
United States alone (Joyce 2006) Since this time the CD market of the north has
progressively declined in part giving way to digital downloads (Davies 2008 Joyce
2006) However in many parts of the lsquoglobal southrsquo where Internet connectivity
remains limited the period since the turn of the millennium (and in Chinarsquos case
somewhat earlier) has in contrast been marked by an explosion in the production
replication marketing and availability of music discsYet the optical disc format that has taken precedence in poorer regions of the world
has often been the video compact disc (VCD) a cheap technology that enables video to
be digitally recorded on to CD discs (Langlois 2009 Morcom 2008) Introduced in
1993 initially by Philips and Sony the industry realised that the VCD would quickly be
eclipsed by the greatly superior capacity and picture quality of the DVD4 which was
shortly to be released on to the market Thus rather than further develop this
essentially doomed new format in the lsquoglobal northrsquo Philips and Sony decided to launch
it in China a decision that was to reap huge profits due to their control over the VCD
chip patent (Wang 2003 50 1) According to R Todd King in China the VCD achieved
the fastest and deepest growth of any technology in history yet it was treated as lsquoa
28 H Stobart
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technology that was fit for a poor cousin in laggard developing countries instead of
cutting edge economiesrsquo (quoted in Wang 2003 50)
Key to the VCDrsquos phenomenal growth was the low cost of reproduction equipment
Chinese manufacturers discovered how to make VCD players by converting CD audio
players resulting in immense expansion of profits and production so that by 1998some 500 manufacturers were operating in China alone (Wang 2003 51) With such
developments in large-scale manufacturing the impact of the Asian VCD explosion
gradually began to resonate in other parts of the global south such as Latin America
especially from the early years of the new millennium But another key characteristic of
the VCD which has accompanied it on its global expansion has been its intimate
association with unlicensed copying or so-called lsquopiracy rsquo In such regions as Latin
America lsquopiracy rsquo was already highly developed well before the arrival of the VCD but I
wish to suggest that the rampant reproduction of recorded music and film since the
arrival of this (increasingly DVD-compatible) digital video format has been of a new magnitude It may also be seen to have particular consequences for musicrsquos production
distribution and reception
Music lsquopiracy rsquo has aroused a great deal of debate in recent years especially in the
context of music file-sharing over the Internet (Knopper 2009 Lessig 2004) Discussion
often polarises into viewing lsquopiracy rsquo either on the one hand as insidious criminal
activity that threatens musiciansrsquo livelihoods musical creativity and the production of
culture or on the other as a legitimate and democratic struggle against an excessively
powerful record industry that for too long has dominated musical culture and
creativity constraining both the agency of musicians and consumer access Both
perspectives as Rudi Moffat has pointed out tend to claim lsquothe mantle of resistancersquo asaggrieved parties defending themselves against the superior forces of respectively lsquoa
veritable tsunami of technology-driven piracy rsquo or lsquoglobal corporate dominationrsquo
(Moffat 2008 1) While both positions clearly include elements of truth neither
adequately represents the complexity of lived social relations or the diverse dynamics of
musical production and consumption in its broadest sense of which for example
commodified music forms just one aspect Also these opposing discourses in which
particular actors are respectively cast as heroes or villains tend to invoke forms of
language and imaginaries that further polarise subject positions and challenge the
potential for mutual understanding and cooperation The use of the word lsquopiracy rsquo inreference to unlicensed copying is itself a good example as it lsquoconjures images of sea-
faring blood-thirsty brigands who terrorise the innocent and are devoid of moral
scruples and links them to their supposed [terrorist] cousins who shoot down
civilian airliners today rsquo (Story Darch and Halbert 2006 72 after Govil 2004)
But lsquopiracy rsquo may also carry positive connotations The individuals involved in
facilitating access to unlicensed music at greatly reduced costs are sometimes presented
as the Robin Hoods of the digital age (cf Ochoa and Yudice 2002 6) My use of the term
lsquopiracy rsquo to convey the idea of unlicensed copying does not carry any implicit value
judgement Rather than supporting any particular subject position my intention is to
use ethnography to highlight the dilemmas faced by the various actors and interest
Ethnomusicology Forum 29
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groups be they musicians record producers copyright enforcers royalty payment
societies state officials or pirate producers suppliers and vendors Indeed in most
cases my encounters with these various individuals led me to experience a sense of
empathy for their diverse predicaments
Bolivia A Striking Case study
This paper considers the case of Bolivia a land-locked country at the heart of South
America which is typically identified as the poorest (per capita) most unequal and
most indigenous country of the region According to the World Bank it also
possesses one of the most informal economies of the world (67 of total economy)
second only to Georgia5 Bolivia provides a striking case study given the almost
complete collapse of its large-scale and long-established national record industry
and exodus of the transnational labels due to the effects of piracy6 The first part of
the essay charts this process and shows how musical production is now in the hands
of a mass of small-scale low-budget and largely informal labels Their releases are
often aimed at the tastes of an emergent low-income and more indigenous market
and prices compete with those of pirated products Ubiquitous piracy means that
sales scarcely recoup production costs and recordings are increasingly funded by the
artists themselves and primarily serve to attract live engagements The paper then
focuses on the dynamics of recorded music piracy in Bolivia which has among the
highest levels in Latin America probably akin to those of Peru for which the
International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) estimated 2008 figures of 98
(IIPA 2009 249)7 But unlike for example Mexico or Peru Bolivia has not been alarge manufacturer or exporter of pirated music Instead much of the pirated music
consumed in the country was imported from Peru even though the original
recording was often produced in Bolivia Drawing on the testimonies of lsquopiratersquo
vendors and suppliers principally in the Bolivian highland cities of Sucre
Cochabamba Potosı La Paz and the Peruvian border town of Desaguadero I
examine the shifting economics and politics of circulation It is argued that although
economic dominance and nationalist imaginaries have underscored Peruvian control
of the Bolivian market for pirated music dramatic reductions in the cost of
Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced reproduction equipment and raw materials are leading to increased localisation of production in Bolivia This
growing decentralisation competition and challenge to Peruvian suppliers
especially since the emergence of the VCD format has led to reduced costs for
consumers massive volumes of disc reproduction and the adoption of alternative
market strategies
It is notable that the government of lsquoindigenousrsquo president Evo Morales which was
inaugurated in January 2006 and has huge popular support (gaining over 64 of the
vote when re-elected in December 2009) has made no significant attempt to
confront music software or book piracy to date However the rise of piracy and
collapse of the large-scale music industry date from well before Moralesrsquo tenure and
30 H Stobart
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need to be viewed in broader historical context In particular the various phases of
neo-liberal policies since the mid-1980s have been seen to have exacerbated
inequality favoured foreign interests reduced state legitimacy and ultimately ignited
the social movements that swept Morales and his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
Government to power (Kohl and Farthing 2006) Thus the growth of piracy may inpart be seen to reflect social conditions that denied majority access to knowledge
and cultural resources (cf Story Darch and Halbert 2006) and a political climate in
which many Bolivians came to feel that laws were unjust and favoured the rich (Gray
Molina 2008 120)
The research for this paper forms part of an 11-month project (September 2007
August 2008) based in the Bolivian city of Sucre which focused on originario
(indigenous) music video production cultural politics and music piracy in the context
of the Morales Government (the theme of a forthcoming book)8 My discussion here is
largely confined to the broader dynamics economics and practices of piracy that haveaffected almost every area of the music business
Radical Transformations Boliviarsquos Record Industry
First piracy imposed itself and then technology Just imagine what happens whentechnology changes We had been working intensively over 30 years to keep aheadof technology to keep up to date with global sound system technology etc Thensuddenly new digital technology appears At first it didnrsquot look as though it would
have much impact but sure enough it [did] and left us totally buried in the ground
(Laureano Rojas founderowner of Lauro record label interview 24 January 2008)9
There is no long term future for the Bolivian record industry (Eduardo Iban ezpresident of the Association of Record Producers of Bolivia ASBPROFON and
founderowner of Heriba record label)10
Piracy has been widely blamed for the near-complete collapse of Boliviarsquos large-scale
lsquolicitrsquo music recording industry and for the exodus of the multinationals from the
country Recording industry profits in the country in 1995 are estimated to have been in
the region of US$20 million
11
While the three main national labels
DiscolandiaLauro and Heriba enjoyed around US$2 million of these profits the lionsrsquo share
(US$18 million) went to the multinationals operating in the country During the 1990s
these included EMI Music BMG Warner Music Universal Music Sony Music Leader
Music and Santa Fe Records Levels of cassette and VHS piracy were already
considerable in the mid-1990s but according to Andres Lopez (formerly of Sony
Music) the country rsquos 1999 economic crisis escalated piracy levels from around 65 in
1998 to 85 89 in 199912 In the years around the turn of the millennium the national
and international music industry jointly organised a series of campaigns to combat
piracy including television advertisements newspaper articles raids on street vendors
using hired police officers and the mass destruction of pirated discs The industry also
Ethnomusicology Forum 31
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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lobbied for the revision of the 1992 copyright law (law 1322) pressured the government
to tackle copyright infringement and censured the state for treating piracy as a lsquosocialrsquo
rather than a lsquolegalrsquo issue13 They also brought several cases against pirate producers to
the courts but the defendants although caught red-handed and admitting guilt
escaped punishment due to legal loopholes They were able to walk free and entirely unpunished because the two-year maximum jail term for copyright infringement (law
1322) is subject to judicial pardon (according to the Blatmann code of penal
procedure) and because fines are not included among the penalties
Despite the creation of a national intellectual property service (SENAPI) in 1999 and
unfulfilled plans to overhaul copyright and create a special police force dedicated to
enforcement (proposed by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in 2001)14 the
government demonstrated little motivation to combat piracy and respond to music
industry pressure This may be attributed in part to the political unpopularity of
enforcement the issues it raises concerning social inequality and its relatively low priority given the political turbulence of the early years of the millennium which
included the so-called Water Wars (2000) and Gas Wars (2003) By 2003 Bolivian
recording industry profits were estimated to have shrunk to around US$06 million15
and all of the major international labels had closed their Bolivian offices and left the
country Both Lauro and Heriba had also ceased trading and in this same year
Discolandia downsized to 20 staff (from 150 in 1995) Today Discolandia a long-
established label that has just celebrated its 50th anniversary is the only major record
label still trading in Bolivia Nonetheless many small low-budget digital studios of
varying degrees of informality are active around the country recording local artists for
regional markets where the low cost of their original products often competes with
pirate prices By contrast the high overheads and the constraints of the formal sector
alongside a desire to exploit international markets and maintain high profits have
meant that the large-scale labels made relatively few concessions on pricing Instead
labels such as Discolandia have focused on the production of high-quality recordings
often incorporating glossy informative booklets which are aimed at exclusive niche
markets able to pay international prices but which are well beyond the budget of the
Bolivian majority
In short the large-scale record industry which formerly dominated the market
through technological advantage enabled by high capital investment has almostentirely vanished In its place we find a multiplicity of small-scale labels or home
studios that use low-cost digital equipment requiring relatively little capital invest-
ment16 As one Cochabamba-based vendor explained
Many groups [now] prefer to record with other labels There are currently labelswhich are not like Lauro Heriba Discolandia or even letrsquos say Sony Music They are not like these [large-scale] labels they are small labels that offer the capacity torecord their product at low cost Very low cost Because in truth with thetechnology that has now appeared a console a simple console with a computeris more than sufficient to get started and to have two good microphones one forthe instrument the other for vocals You donrsquot need any more than this to make a
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studio And for a video production cameras and all these things are much cheapermaybe 500 dollars We are talking about a digital workstation which can createquality images and offer a product at lower costs Now all these situations can beoffered (Anonymous interview Cochabamba 24 January 2008)
This description of a small-scale home studio describes almost precisely theequipment used by the originario (indigenous) artistproducer Gregorio Mamani
whose work formed a central focus of my research and with whom I collaborated in the
production of several originario music videos Mamani hails from a rural peasant
community near Macha (see Figure 1) he is constantly constrained economically and
although a very well-known artist among low-income indigenous people of the region
he is almost unknown among the middle classes His work has been subject to high
levels of piracy against which he has long been an outspoken opponent However
piracy was also undoubtedly responsible for the international popularity of a VCD of
his music featuring his son the child star Vichito Mamani This piracy-generatedpopularity led the family to undertake concert tours of Peru Argentina and Bolivia in
2005 06 enabling Mamani to raise the modest capital necessary to set up a digital
studio While Mamanirsquos home studio and label (CEMBOL) is largely dedicated to
producing and promoting his own work a number of other labels primarily produce
the work of others
For example Cochabamba-based CG Records and Banana Records are both
established producers of originario musics and popular electronic genres such as
PERU
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CHILEARGENTINA
PARAGUAY
La Paz
Cusco
OruroCochabamba
Sucre
Potosiacute
Puno
SOUTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
L a k e T i t i c a c a
LakePoopo
A N D E S
M O U N T A I N S
Macha
Desaguadero
Iquique
Juliaca
Santa Cruz
Figure 1 Map showing principal locations mentioned in the text
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cumbia for low-income regional markets17 They started out respectively in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing cassettes of regional styles for an emergent mass
market
Formerly we used to produce cassettes Well the people of the countrysideidentified more with their [own] music they purchased this music and didnrsquot buy pirated versions So in our case it was better to dedicate ourselves to the massmarket which was more indigenous as is the case in Bolivia than to addressourselves to the central market that was already occupied by Chayanne Luis Migueland those kinds of foreign music (Wilson Ramirez Banana Records interview
Cochabamba 6 March 2008)
This reported tendency for indigenous people to buy originals would now seem to be
less in evidence with the escalation of mass piracy following the arrival of VCD
technology Although original VCDs of originario musics are far more widely available
than are those of neo-folkloric and international genres consumed by the middleclasses Wilson Ramirez asserts that lsquoof every ten discs sold we sell one original the
pirates [sell] ninersquo The effects of piracy have led to the changing of contractual
agreements between labels and artists where a recording fee is only offered to the most
established and successful artists Other artists are required to pay the label to produce
their work (Banana Records I was told charges US$500) and may be responsible for
their own distribution Labels rarely produce more than 1000 or 2000 copies of a new
release as the window of opportunity for selling originals before the market is flooded
by thousands of pirated copies is often only a matter of days Coordinating single-day
release in all the major markets around the country has thus become a standard strategy to attempt to recoup production costs Few labels survive economically from the music
business alone most combining such work with other occupations or businesses For
example in addition to Banana Records which has grown increasingly unprofitable
Wilson Ramirez owns a radio station Ritmo originally set up to promote his
recordings and a successful bakery chain
A large proportion of small-sized and medium-sized studios might be described as
lsquoinformalrsquo as they neither pay taxes nor register recordings with performersrsquo or
composersrsquo rights organisations or with the national intellectual property service
(SENAPI) Although rights to compositions and recordings can now be registered quitesimply and cheaply originario artistscomposers and producers often believe that a
notated score is required (as was formerly the case) that royalties will not be
forthcoming and that registration will not halt plagiarism With the pro-indigenous
presidency of Evo Morales newly-created originario musiciansrsquo organisations have
begun to confront a perceived sense of exclusion and discrimination by the existing
music royalty collection societies controlled by middle-class artists Such moves which
are often presented as a lsquocultural revolutionrsquo reflect a desire to gain greater equality
recognition and legitimacy Certain small-scale labels have also sought out ways to
become lsquolegitimatersquo and move into the formal sector a widely held aspiration in
Boliviarsquos highly informal economy18 Indeed according to Wilson Ramirez many
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
Ethnomusicology Forum 35
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 37
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
46 H Stobart
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
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Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
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Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
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Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
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However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 331
technology that was fit for a poor cousin in laggard developing countries instead of
cutting edge economiesrsquo (quoted in Wang 2003 50)
Key to the VCDrsquos phenomenal growth was the low cost of reproduction equipment
Chinese manufacturers discovered how to make VCD players by converting CD audio
players resulting in immense expansion of profits and production so that by 1998some 500 manufacturers were operating in China alone (Wang 2003 51) With such
developments in large-scale manufacturing the impact of the Asian VCD explosion
gradually began to resonate in other parts of the global south such as Latin America
especially from the early years of the new millennium But another key characteristic of
the VCD which has accompanied it on its global expansion has been its intimate
association with unlicensed copying or so-called lsquopiracy rsquo In such regions as Latin
America lsquopiracy rsquo was already highly developed well before the arrival of the VCD but I
wish to suggest that the rampant reproduction of recorded music and film since the
arrival of this (increasingly DVD-compatible) digital video format has been of a new magnitude It may also be seen to have particular consequences for musicrsquos production
distribution and reception
Music lsquopiracy rsquo has aroused a great deal of debate in recent years especially in the
context of music file-sharing over the Internet (Knopper 2009 Lessig 2004) Discussion
often polarises into viewing lsquopiracy rsquo either on the one hand as insidious criminal
activity that threatens musiciansrsquo livelihoods musical creativity and the production of
culture or on the other as a legitimate and democratic struggle against an excessively
powerful record industry that for too long has dominated musical culture and
creativity constraining both the agency of musicians and consumer access Both
perspectives as Rudi Moffat has pointed out tend to claim lsquothe mantle of resistancersquo asaggrieved parties defending themselves against the superior forces of respectively lsquoa
veritable tsunami of technology-driven piracy rsquo or lsquoglobal corporate dominationrsquo
(Moffat 2008 1) While both positions clearly include elements of truth neither
adequately represents the complexity of lived social relations or the diverse dynamics of
musical production and consumption in its broadest sense of which for example
commodified music forms just one aspect Also these opposing discourses in which
particular actors are respectively cast as heroes or villains tend to invoke forms of
language and imaginaries that further polarise subject positions and challenge the
potential for mutual understanding and cooperation The use of the word lsquopiracy rsquo inreference to unlicensed copying is itself a good example as it lsquoconjures images of sea-
faring blood-thirsty brigands who terrorise the innocent and are devoid of moral
scruples and links them to their supposed [terrorist] cousins who shoot down
civilian airliners today rsquo (Story Darch and Halbert 2006 72 after Govil 2004)
But lsquopiracy rsquo may also carry positive connotations The individuals involved in
facilitating access to unlicensed music at greatly reduced costs are sometimes presented
as the Robin Hoods of the digital age (cf Ochoa and Yudice 2002 6) My use of the term
lsquopiracy rsquo to convey the idea of unlicensed copying does not carry any implicit value
judgement Rather than supporting any particular subject position my intention is to
use ethnography to highlight the dilemmas faced by the various actors and interest
Ethnomusicology Forum 29
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groups be they musicians record producers copyright enforcers royalty payment
societies state officials or pirate producers suppliers and vendors Indeed in most
cases my encounters with these various individuals led me to experience a sense of
empathy for their diverse predicaments
Bolivia A Striking Case study
This paper considers the case of Bolivia a land-locked country at the heart of South
America which is typically identified as the poorest (per capita) most unequal and
most indigenous country of the region According to the World Bank it also
possesses one of the most informal economies of the world (67 of total economy)
second only to Georgia5 Bolivia provides a striking case study given the almost
complete collapse of its large-scale and long-established national record industry
and exodus of the transnational labels due to the effects of piracy6 The first part of
the essay charts this process and shows how musical production is now in the hands
of a mass of small-scale low-budget and largely informal labels Their releases are
often aimed at the tastes of an emergent low-income and more indigenous market
and prices compete with those of pirated products Ubiquitous piracy means that
sales scarcely recoup production costs and recordings are increasingly funded by the
artists themselves and primarily serve to attract live engagements The paper then
focuses on the dynamics of recorded music piracy in Bolivia which has among the
highest levels in Latin America probably akin to those of Peru for which the
International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) estimated 2008 figures of 98
(IIPA 2009 249)7 But unlike for example Mexico or Peru Bolivia has not been alarge manufacturer or exporter of pirated music Instead much of the pirated music
consumed in the country was imported from Peru even though the original
recording was often produced in Bolivia Drawing on the testimonies of lsquopiratersquo
vendors and suppliers principally in the Bolivian highland cities of Sucre
Cochabamba Potosı La Paz and the Peruvian border town of Desaguadero I
examine the shifting economics and politics of circulation It is argued that although
economic dominance and nationalist imaginaries have underscored Peruvian control
of the Bolivian market for pirated music dramatic reductions in the cost of
Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced reproduction equipment and raw materials are leading to increased localisation of production in Bolivia This
growing decentralisation competition and challenge to Peruvian suppliers
especially since the emergence of the VCD format has led to reduced costs for
consumers massive volumes of disc reproduction and the adoption of alternative
market strategies
It is notable that the government of lsquoindigenousrsquo president Evo Morales which was
inaugurated in January 2006 and has huge popular support (gaining over 64 of the
vote when re-elected in December 2009) has made no significant attempt to
confront music software or book piracy to date However the rise of piracy and
collapse of the large-scale music industry date from well before Moralesrsquo tenure and
30 H Stobart
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need to be viewed in broader historical context In particular the various phases of
neo-liberal policies since the mid-1980s have been seen to have exacerbated
inequality favoured foreign interests reduced state legitimacy and ultimately ignited
the social movements that swept Morales and his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
Government to power (Kohl and Farthing 2006) Thus the growth of piracy may inpart be seen to reflect social conditions that denied majority access to knowledge
and cultural resources (cf Story Darch and Halbert 2006) and a political climate in
which many Bolivians came to feel that laws were unjust and favoured the rich (Gray
Molina 2008 120)
The research for this paper forms part of an 11-month project (September 2007
August 2008) based in the Bolivian city of Sucre which focused on originario
(indigenous) music video production cultural politics and music piracy in the context
of the Morales Government (the theme of a forthcoming book)8 My discussion here is
largely confined to the broader dynamics economics and practices of piracy that haveaffected almost every area of the music business
Radical Transformations Boliviarsquos Record Industry
First piracy imposed itself and then technology Just imagine what happens whentechnology changes We had been working intensively over 30 years to keep aheadof technology to keep up to date with global sound system technology etc Thensuddenly new digital technology appears At first it didnrsquot look as though it would
have much impact but sure enough it [did] and left us totally buried in the ground
(Laureano Rojas founderowner of Lauro record label interview 24 January 2008)9
There is no long term future for the Bolivian record industry (Eduardo Iban ezpresident of the Association of Record Producers of Bolivia ASBPROFON and
founderowner of Heriba record label)10
Piracy has been widely blamed for the near-complete collapse of Boliviarsquos large-scale
lsquolicitrsquo music recording industry and for the exodus of the multinationals from the
country Recording industry profits in the country in 1995 are estimated to have been in
the region of US$20 million
11
While the three main national labels
DiscolandiaLauro and Heriba enjoyed around US$2 million of these profits the lionsrsquo share
(US$18 million) went to the multinationals operating in the country During the 1990s
these included EMI Music BMG Warner Music Universal Music Sony Music Leader
Music and Santa Fe Records Levels of cassette and VHS piracy were already
considerable in the mid-1990s but according to Andres Lopez (formerly of Sony
Music) the country rsquos 1999 economic crisis escalated piracy levels from around 65 in
1998 to 85 89 in 199912 In the years around the turn of the millennium the national
and international music industry jointly organised a series of campaigns to combat
piracy including television advertisements newspaper articles raids on street vendors
using hired police officers and the mass destruction of pirated discs The industry also
Ethnomusicology Forum 31
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lobbied for the revision of the 1992 copyright law (law 1322) pressured the government
to tackle copyright infringement and censured the state for treating piracy as a lsquosocialrsquo
rather than a lsquolegalrsquo issue13 They also brought several cases against pirate producers to
the courts but the defendants although caught red-handed and admitting guilt
escaped punishment due to legal loopholes They were able to walk free and entirely unpunished because the two-year maximum jail term for copyright infringement (law
1322) is subject to judicial pardon (according to the Blatmann code of penal
procedure) and because fines are not included among the penalties
Despite the creation of a national intellectual property service (SENAPI) in 1999 and
unfulfilled plans to overhaul copyright and create a special police force dedicated to
enforcement (proposed by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in 2001)14 the
government demonstrated little motivation to combat piracy and respond to music
industry pressure This may be attributed in part to the political unpopularity of
enforcement the issues it raises concerning social inequality and its relatively low priority given the political turbulence of the early years of the millennium which
included the so-called Water Wars (2000) and Gas Wars (2003) By 2003 Bolivian
recording industry profits were estimated to have shrunk to around US$06 million15
and all of the major international labels had closed their Bolivian offices and left the
country Both Lauro and Heriba had also ceased trading and in this same year
Discolandia downsized to 20 staff (from 150 in 1995) Today Discolandia a long-
established label that has just celebrated its 50th anniversary is the only major record
label still trading in Bolivia Nonetheless many small low-budget digital studios of
varying degrees of informality are active around the country recording local artists for
regional markets where the low cost of their original products often competes with
pirate prices By contrast the high overheads and the constraints of the formal sector
alongside a desire to exploit international markets and maintain high profits have
meant that the large-scale labels made relatively few concessions on pricing Instead
labels such as Discolandia have focused on the production of high-quality recordings
often incorporating glossy informative booklets which are aimed at exclusive niche
markets able to pay international prices but which are well beyond the budget of the
Bolivian majority
In short the large-scale record industry which formerly dominated the market
through technological advantage enabled by high capital investment has almostentirely vanished In its place we find a multiplicity of small-scale labels or home
studios that use low-cost digital equipment requiring relatively little capital invest-
ment16 As one Cochabamba-based vendor explained
Many groups [now] prefer to record with other labels There are currently labelswhich are not like Lauro Heriba Discolandia or even letrsquos say Sony Music They are not like these [large-scale] labels they are small labels that offer the capacity torecord their product at low cost Very low cost Because in truth with thetechnology that has now appeared a console a simple console with a computeris more than sufficient to get started and to have two good microphones one forthe instrument the other for vocals You donrsquot need any more than this to make a
32 H Stobart
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studio And for a video production cameras and all these things are much cheapermaybe 500 dollars We are talking about a digital workstation which can createquality images and offer a product at lower costs Now all these situations can beoffered (Anonymous interview Cochabamba 24 January 2008)
This description of a small-scale home studio describes almost precisely theequipment used by the originario (indigenous) artistproducer Gregorio Mamani
whose work formed a central focus of my research and with whom I collaborated in the
production of several originario music videos Mamani hails from a rural peasant
community near Macha (see Figure 1) he is constantly constrained economically and
although a very well-known artist among low-income indigenous people of the region
he is almost unknown among the middle classes His work has been subject to high
levels of piracy against which he has long been an outspoken opponent However
piracy was also undoubtedly responsible for the international popularity of a VCD of
his music featuring his son the child star Vichito Mamani This piracy-generatedpopularity led the family to undertake concert tours of Peru Argentina and Bolivia in
2005 06 enabling Mamani to raise the modest capital necessary to set up a digital
studio While Mamanirsquos home studio and label (CEMBOL) is largely dedicated to
producing and promoting his own work a number of other labels primarily produce
the work of others
For example Cochabamba-based CG Records and Banana Records are both
established producers of originario musics and popular electronic genres such as
PERU
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CHILEARGENTINA
PARAGUAY
La Paz
Cusco
OruroCochabamba
Sucre
Potosiacute
Puno
SOUTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
L a k e T i t i c a c a
LakePoopo
A N D E S
M O U N T A I N S
Macha
Desaguadero
Iquique
Juliaca
Santa Cruz
Figure 1 Map showing principal locations mentioned in the text
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cumbia for low-income regional markets17 They started out respectively in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing cassettes of regional styles for an emergent mass
market
Formerly we used to produce cassettes Well the people of the countrysideidentified more with their [own] music they purchased this music and didnrsquot buy pirated versions So in our case it was better to dedicate ourselves to the massmarket which was more indigenous as is the case in Bolivia than to addressourselves to the central market that was already occupied by Chayanne Luis Migueland those kinds of foreign music (Wilson Ramirez Banana Records interview
Cochabamba 6 March 2008)
This reported tendency for indigenous people to buy originals would now seem to be
less in evidence with the escalation of mass piracy following the arrival of VCD
technology Although original VCDs of originario musics are far more widely available
than are those of neo-folkloric and international genres consumed by the middleclasses Wilson Ramirez asserts that lsquoof every ten discs sold we sell one original the
pirates [sell] ninersquo The effects of piracy have led to the changing of contractual
agreements between labels and artists where a recording fee is only offered to the most
established and successful artists Other artists are required to pay the label to produce
their work (Banana Records I was told charges US$500) and may be responsible for
their own distribution Labels rarely produce more than 1000 or 2000 copies of a new
release as the window of opportunity for selling originals before the market is flooded
by thousands of pirated copies is often only a matter of days Coordinating single-day
release in all the major markets around the country has thus become a standard strategy to attempt to recoup production costs Few labels survive economically from the music
business alone most combining such work with other occupations or businesses For
example in addition to Banana Records which has grown increasingly unprofitable
Wilson Ramirez owns a radio station Ritmo originally set up to promote his
recordings and a successful bakery chain
A large proportion of small-sized and medium-sized studios might be described as
lsquoinformalrsquo as they neither pay taxes nor register recordings with performersrsquo or
composersrsquo rights organisations or with the national intellectual property service
(SENAPI) Although rights to compositions and recordings can now be registered quitesimply and cheaply originario artistscomposers and producers often believe that a
notated score is required (as was formerly the case) that royalties will not be
forthcoming and that registration will not halt plagiarism With the pro-indigenous
presidency of Evo Morales newly-created originario musiciansrsquo organisations have
begun to confront a perceived sense of exclusion and discrimination by the existing
music royalty collection societies controlled by middle-class artists Such moves which
are often presented as a lsquocultural revolutionrsquo reflect a desire to gain greater equality
recognition and legitimacy Certain small-scale labels have also sought out ways to
become lsquolegitimatersquo and move into the formal sector a widely held aspiration in
Boliviarsquos highly informal economy18 Indeed according to Wilson Ramirez many
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 37
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
Ethnomusicology Forum 39
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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groups be they musicians record producers copyright enforcers royalty payment
societies state officials or pirate producers suppliers and vendors Indeed in most
cases my encounters with these various individuals led me to experience a sense of
empathy for their diverse predicaments
Bolivia A Striking Case study
This paper considers the case of Bolivia a land-locked country at the heart of South
America which is typically identified as the poorest (per capita) most unequal and
most indigenous country of the region According to the World Bank it also
possesses one of the most informal economies of the world (67 of total economy)
second only to Georgia5 Bolivia provides a striking case study given the almost
complete collapse of its large-scale and long-established national record industry
and exodus of the transnational labels due to the effects of piracy6 The first part of
the essay charts this process and shows how musical production is now in the hands
of a mass of small-scale low-budget and largely informal labels Their releases are
often aimed at the tastes of an emergent low-income and more indigenous market
and prices compete with those of pirated products Ubiquitous piracy means that
sales scarcely recoup production costs and recordings are increasingly funded by the
artists themselves and primarily serve to attract live engagements The paper then
focuses on the dynamics of recorded music piracy in Bolivia which has among the
highest levels in Latin America probably akin to those of Peru for which the
International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) estimated 2008 figures of 98
(IIPA 2009 249)7 But unlike for example Mexico or Peru Bolivia has not been alarge manufacturer or exporter of pirated music Instead much of the pirated music
consumed in the country was imported from Peru even though the original
recording was often produced in Bolivia Drawing on the testimonies of lsquopiratersquo
vendors and suppliers principally in the Bolivian highland cities of Sucre
Cochabamba Potosı La Paz and the Peruvian border town of Desaguadero I
examine the shifting economics and politics of circulation It is argued that although
economic dominance and nationalist imaginaries have underscored Peruvian control
of the Bolivian market for pirated music dramatic reductions in the cost of
Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced reproduction equipment and raw materials are leading to increased localisation of production in Bolivia This
growing decentralisation competition and challenge to Peruvian suppliers
especially since the emergence of the VCD format has led to reduced costs for
consumers massive volumes of disc reproduction and the adoption of alternative
market strategies
It is notable that the government of lsquoindigenousrsquo president Evo Morales which was
inaugurated in January 2006 and has huge popular support (gaining over 64 of the
vote when re-elected in December 2009) has made no significant attempt to
confront music software or book piracy to date However the rise of piracy and
collapse of the large-scale music industry date from well before Moralesrsquo tenure and
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need to be viewed in broader historical context In particular the various phases of
neo-liberal policies since the mid-1980s have been seen to have exacerbated
inequality favoured foreign interests reduced state legitimacy and ultimately ignited
the social movements that swept Morales and his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
Government to power (Kohl and Farthing 2006) Thus the growth of piracy may inpart be seen to reflect social conditions that denied majority access to knowledge
and cultural resources (cf Story Darch and Halbert 2006) and a political climate in
which many Bolivians came to feel that laws were unjust and favoured the rich (Gray
Molina 2008 120)
The research for this paper forms part of an 11-month project (September 2007
August 2008) based in the Bolivian city of Sucre which focused on originario
(indigenous) music video production cultural politics and music piracy in the context
of the Morales Government (the theme of a forthcoming book)8 My discussion here is
largely confined to the broader dynamics economics and practices of piracy that haveaffected almost every area of the music business
Radical Transformations Boliviarsquos Record Industry
First piracy imposed itself and then technology Just imagine what happens whentechnology changes We had been working intensively over 30 years to keep aheadof technology to keep up to date with global sound system technology etc Thensuddenly new digital technology appears At first it didnrsquot look as though it would
have much impact but sure enough it [did] and left us totally buried in the ground
(Laureano Rojas founderowner of Lauro record label interview 24 January 2008)9
There is no long term future for the Bolivian record industry (Eduardo Iban ezpresident of the Association of Record Producers of Bolivia ASBPROFON and
founderowner of Heriba record label)10
Piracy has been widely blamed for the near-complete collapse of Boliviarsquos large-scale
lsquolicitrsquo music recording industry and for the exodus of the multinationals from the
country Recording industry profits in the country in 1995 are estimated to have been in
the region of US$20 million
11
While the three main national labels
DiscolandiaLauro and Heriba enjoyed around US$2 million of these profits the lionsrsquo share
(US$18 million) went to the multinationals operating in the country During the 1990s
these included EMI Music BMG Warner Music Universal Music Sony Music Leader
Music and Santa Fe Records Levels of cassette and VHS piracy were already
considerable in the mid-1990s but according to Andres Lopez (formerly of Sony
Music) the country rsquos 1999 economic crisis escalated piracy levels from around 65 in
1998 to 85 89 in 199912 In the years around the turn of the millennium the national
and international music industry jointly organised a series of campaigns to combat
piracy including television advertisements newspaper articles raids on street vendors
using hired police officers and the mass destruction of pirated discs The industry also
Ethnomusicology Forum 31
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lobbied for the revision of the 1992 copyright law (law 1322) pressured the government
to tackle copyright infringement and censured the state for treating piracy as a lsquosocialrsquo
rather than a lsquolegalrsquo issue13 They also brought several cases against pirate producers to
the courts but the defendants although caught red-handed and admitting guilt
escaped punishment due to legal loopholes They were able to walk free and entirely unpunished because the two-year maximum jail term for copyright infringement (law
1322) is subject to judicial pardon (according to the Blatmann code of penal
procedure) and because fines are not included among the penalties
Despite the creation of a national intellectual property service (SENAPI) in 1999 and
unfulfilled plans to overhaul copyright and create a special police force dedicated to
enforcement (proposed by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in 2001)14 the
government demonstrated little motivation to combat piracy and respond to music
industry pressure This may be attributed in part to the political unpopularity of
enforcement the issues it raises concerning social inequality and its relatively low priority given the political turbulence of the early years of the millennium which
included the so-called Water Wars (2000) and Gas Wars (2003) By 2003 Bolivian
recording industry profits were estimated to have shrunk to around US$06 million15
and all of the major international labels had closed their Bolivian offices and left the
country Both Lauro and Heriba had also ceased trading and in this same year
Discolandia downsized to 20 staff (from 150 in 1995) Today Discolandia a long-
established label that has just celebrated its 50th anniversary is the only major record
label still trading in Bolivia Nonetheless many small low-budget digital studios of
varying degrees of informality are active around the country recording local artists for
regional markets where the low cost of their original products often competes with
pirate prices By contrast the high overheads and the constraints of the formal sector
alongside a desire to exploit international markets and maintain high profits have
meant that the large-scale labels made relatively few concessions on pricing Instead
labels such as Discolandia have focused on the production of high-quality recordings
often incorporating glossy informative booklets which are aimed at exclusive niche
markets able to pay international prices but which are well beyond the budget of the
Bolivian majority
In short the large-scale record industry which formerly dominated the market
through technological advantage enabled by high capital investment has almostentirely vanished In its place we find a multiplicity of small-scale labels or home
studios that use low-cost digital equipment requiring relatively little capital invest-
ment16 As one Cochabamba-based vendor explained
Many groups [now] prefer to record with other labels There are currently labelswhich are not like Lauro Heriba Discolandia or even letrsquos say Sony Music They are not like these [large-scale] labels they are small labels that offer the capacity torecord their product at low cost Very low cost Because in truth with thetechnology that has now appeared a console a simple console with a computeris more than sufficient to get started and to have two good microphones one forthe instrument the other for vocals You donrsquot need any more than this to make a
32 H Stobart
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studio And for a video production cameras and all these things are much cheapermaybe 500 dollars We are talking about a digital workstation which can createquality images and offer a product at lower costs Now all these situations can beoffered (Anonymous interview Cochabamba 24 January 2008)
This description of a small-scale home studio describes almost precisely theequipment used by the originario (indigenous) artistproducer Gregorio Mamani
whose work formed a central focus of my research and with whom I collaborated in the
production of several originario music videos Mamani hails from a rural peasant
community near Macha (see Figure 1) he is constantly constrained economically and
although a very well-known artist among low-income indigenous people of the region
he is almost unknown among the middle classes His work has been subject to high
levels of piracy against which he has long been an outspoken opponent However
piracy was also undoubtedly responsible for the international popularity of a VCD of
his music featuring his son the child star Vichito Mamani This piracy-generatedpopularity led the family to undertake concert tours of Peru Argentina and Bolivia in
2005 06 enabling Mamani to raise the modest capital necessary to set up a digital
studio While Mamanirsquos home studio and label (CEMBOL) is largely dedicated to
producing and promoting his own work a number of other labels primarily produce
the work of others
For example Cochabamba-based CG Records and Banana Records are both
established producers of originario musics and popular electronic genres such as
PERU
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CHILEARGENTINA
PARAGUAY
La Paz
Cusco
OruroCochabamba
Sucre
Potosiacute
Puno
SOUTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
L a k e T i t i c a c a
LakePoopo
A N D E S
M O U N T A I N S
Macha
Desaguadero
Iquique
Juliaca
Santa Cruz
Figure 1 Map showing principal locations mentioned in the text
Ethnomusicology Forum 33
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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cumbia for low-income regional markets17 They started out respectively in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing cassettes of regional styles for an emergent mass
market
Formerly we used to produce cassettes Well the people of the countrysideidentified more with their [own] music they purchased this music and didnrsquot buy pirated versions So in our case it was better to dedicate ourselves to the massmarket which was more indigenous as is the case in Bolivia than to addressourselves to the central market that was already occupied by Chayanne Luis Migueland those kinds of foreign music (Wilson Ramirez Banana Records interview
Cochabamba 6 March 2008)
This reported tendency for indigenous people to buy originals would now seem to be
less in evidence with the escalation of mass piracy following the arrival of VCD
technology Although original VCDs of originario musics are far more widely available
than are those of neo-folkloric and international genres consumed by the middleclasses Wilson Ramirez asserts that lsquoof every ten discs sold we sell one original the
pirates [sell] ninersquo The effects of piracy have led to the changing of contractual
agreements between labels and artists where a recording fee is only offered to the most
established and successful artists Other artists are required to pay the label to produce
their work (Banana Records I was told charges US$500) and may be responsible for
their own distribution Labels rarely produce more than 1000 or 2000 copies of a new
release as the window of opportunity for selling originals before the market is flooded
by thousands of pirated copies is often only a matter of days Coordinating single-day
release in all the major markets around the country has thus become a standard strategy to attempt to recoup production costs Few labels survive economically from the music
business alone most combining such work with other occupations or businesses For
example in addition to Banana Records which has grown increasingly unprofitable
Wilson Ramirez owns a radio station Ritmo originally set up to promote his
recordings and a successful bakery chain
A large proportion of small-sized and medium-sized studios might be described as
lsquoinformalrsquo as they neither pay taxes nor register recordings with performersrsquo or
composersrsquo rights organisations or with the national intellectual property service
(SENAPI) Although rights to compositions and recordings can now be registered quitesimply and cheaply originario artistscomposers and producers often believe that a
notated score is required (as was formerly the case) that royalties will not be
forthcoming and that registration will not halt plagiarism With the pro-indigenous
presidency of Evo Morales newly-created originario musiciansrsquo organisations have
begun to confront a perceived sense of exclusion and discrimination by the existing
music royalty collection societies controlled by middle-class artists Such moves which
are often presented as a lsquocultural revolutionrsquo reflect a desire to gain greater equality
recognition and legitimacy Certain small-scale labels have also sought out ways to
become lsquolegitimatersquo and move into the formal sector a widely held aspiration in
Boliviarsquos highly informal economy18 Indeed according to Wilson Ramirez many
34 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
Ethnomusicology Forum 35
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 37
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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need to be viewed in broader historical context In particular the various phases of
neo-liberal policies since the mid-1980s have been seen to have exacerbated
inequality favoured foreign interests reduced state legitimacy and ultimately ignited
the social movements that swept Morales and his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
Government to power (Kohl and Farthing 2006) Thus the growth of piracy may inpart be seen to reflect social conditions that denied majority access to knowledge
and cultural resources (cf Story Darch and Halbert 2006) and a political climate in
which many Bolivians came to feel that laws were unjust and favoured the rich (Gray
Molina 2008 120)
The research for this paper forms part of an 11-month project (September 2007
August 2008) based in the Bolivian city of Sucre which focused on originario
(indigenous) music video production cultural politics and music piracy in the context
of the Morales Government (the theme of a forthcoming book)8 My discussion here is
largely confined to the broader dynamics economics and practices of piracy that haveaffected almost every area of the music business
Radical Transformations Boliviarsquos Record Industry
First piracy imposed itself and then technology Just imagine what happens whentechnology changes We had been working intensively over 30 years to keep aheadof technology to keep up to date with global sound system technology etc Thensuddenly new digital technology appears At first it didnrsquot look as though it would
have much impact but sure enough it [did] and left us totally buried in the ground
(Laureano Rojas founderowner of Lauro record label interview 24 January 2008)9
There is no long term future for the Bolivian record industry (Eduardo Iban ezpresident of the Association of Record Producers of Bolivia ASBPROFON and
founderowner of Heriba record label)10
Piracy has been widely blamed for the near-complete collapse of Boliviarsquos large-scale
lsquolicitrsquo music recording industry and for the exodus of the multinationals from the
country Recording industry profits in the country in 1995 are estimated to have been in
the region of US$20 million
11
While the three main national labels
DiscolandiaLauro and Heriba enjoyed around US$2 million of these profits the lionsrsquo share
(US$18 million) went to the multinationals operating in the country During the 1990s
these included EMI Music BMG Warner Music Universal Music Sony Music Leader
Music and Santa Fe Records Levels of cassette and VHS piracy were already
considerable in the mid-1990s but according to Andres Lopez (formerly of Sony
Music) the country rsquos 1999 economic crisis escalated piracy levels from around 65 in
1998 to 85 89 in 199912 In the years around the turn of the millennium the national
and international music industry jointly organised a series of campaigns to combat
piracy including television advertisements newspaper articles raids on street vendors
using hired police officers and the mass destruction of pirated discs The industry also
Ethnomusicology Forum 31
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lobbied for the revision of the 1992 copyright law (law 1322) pressured the government
to tackle copyright infringement and censured the state for treating piracy as a lsquosocialrsquo
rather than a lsquolegalrsquo issue13 They also brought several cases against pirate producers to
the courts but the defendants although caught red-handed and admitting guilt
escaped punishment due to legal loopholes They were able to walk free and entirely unpunished because the two-year maximum jail term for copyright infringement (law
1322) is subject to judicial pardon (according to the Blatmann code of penal
procedure) and because fines are not included among the penalties
Despite the creation of a national intellectual property service (SENAPI) in 1999 and
unfulfilled plans to overhaul copyright and create a special police force dedicated to
enforcement (proposed by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in 2001)14 the
government demonstrated little motivation to combat piracy and respond to music
industry pressure This may be attributed in part to the political unpopularity of
enforcement the issues it raises concerning social inequality and its relatively low priority given the political turbulence of the early years of the millennium which
included the so-called Water Wars (2000) and Gas Wars (2003) By 2003 Bolivian
recording industry profits were estimated to have shrunk to around US$06 million15
and all of the major international labels had closed their Bolivian offices and left the
country Both Lauro and Heriba had also ceased trading and in this same year
Discolandia downsized to 20 staff (from 150 in 1995) Today Discolandia a long-
established label that has just celebrated its 50th anniversary is the only major record
label still trading in Bolivia Nonetheless many small low-budget digital studios of
varying degrees of informality are active around the country recording local artists for
regional markets where the low cost of their original products often competes with
pirate prices By contrast the high overheads and the constraints of the formal sector
alongside a desire to exploit international markets and maintain high profits have
meant that the large-scale labels made relatively few concessions on pricing Instead
labels such as Discolandia have focused on the production of high-quality recordings
often incorporating glossy informative booklets which are aimed at exclusive niche
markets able to pay international prices but which are well beyond the budget of the
Bolivian majority
In short the large-scale record industry which formerly dominated the market
through technological advantage enabled by high capital investment has almostentirely vanished In its place we find a multiplicity of small-scale labels or home
studios that use low-cost digital equipment requiring relatively little capital invest-
ment16 As one Cochabamba-based vendor explained
Many groups [now] prefer to record with other labels There are currently labelswhich are not like Lauro Heriba Discolandia or even letrsquos say Sony Music They are not like these [large-scale] labels they are small labels that offer the capacity torecord their product at low cost Very low cost Because in truth with thetechnology that has now appeared a console a simple console with a computeris more than sufficient to get started and to have two good microphones one forthe instrument the other for vocals You donrsquot need any more than this to make a
32 H Stobart
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studio And for a video production cameras and all these things are much cheapermaybe 500 dollars We are talking about a digital workstation which can createquality images and offer a product at lower costs Now all these situations can beoffered (Anonymous interview Cochabamba 24 January 2008)
This description of a small-scale home studio describes almost precisely theequipment used by the originario (indigenous) artistproducer Gregorio Mamani
whose work formed a central focus of my research and with whom I collaborated in the
production of several originario music videos Mamani hails from a rural peasant
community near Macha (see Figure 1) he is constantly constrained economically and
although a very well-known artist among low-income indigenous people of the region
he is almost unknown among the middle classes His work has been subject to high
levels of piracy against which he has long been an outspoken opponent However
piracy was also undoubtedly responsible for the international popularity of a VCD of
his music featuring his son the child star Vichito Mamani This piracy-generatedpopularity led the family to undertake concert tours of Peru Argentina and Bolivia in
2005 06 enabling Mamani to raise the modest capital necessary to set up a digital
studio While Mamanirsquos home studio and label (CEMBOL) is largely dedicated to
producing and promoting his own work a number of other labels primarily produce
the work of others
For example Cochabamba-based CG Records and Banana Records are both
established producers of originario musics and popular electronic genres such as
PERU
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CHILEARGENTINA
PARAGUAY
La Paz
Cusco
OruroCochabamba
Sucre
Potosiacute
Puno
SOUTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
L a k e T i t i c a c a
LakePoopo
A N D E S
M O U N T A I N S
Macha
Desaguadero
Iquique
Juliaca
Santa Cruz
Figure 1 Map showing principal locations mentioned in the text
Ethnomusicology Forum 33
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cumbia for low-income regional markets17 They started out respectively in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing cassettes of regional styles for an emergent mass
market
Formerly we used to produce cassettes Well the people of the countrysideidentified more with their [own] music they purchased this music and didnrsquot buy pirated versions So in our case it was better to dedicate ourselves to the massmarket which was more indigenous as is the case in Bolivia than to addressourselves to the central market that was already occupied by Chayanne Luis Migueland those kinds of foreign music (Wilson Ramirez Banana Records interview
Cochabamba 6 March 2008)
This reported tendency for indigenous people to buy originals would now seem to be
less in evidence with the escalation of mass piracy following the arrival of VCD
technology Although original VCDs of originario musics are far more widely available
than are those of neo-folkloric and international genres consumed by the middleclasses Wilson Ramirez asserts that lsquoof every ten discs sold we sell one original the
pirates [sell] ninersquo The effects of piracy have led to the changing of contractual
agreements between labels and artists where a recording fee is only offered to the most
established and successful artists Other artists are required to pay the label to produce
their work (Banana Records I was told charges US$500) and may be responsible for
their own distribution Labels rarely produce more than 1000 or 2000 copies of a new
release as the window of opportunity for selling originals before the market is flooded
by thousands of pirated copies is often only a matter of days Coordinating single-day
release in all the major markets around the country has thus become a standard strategy to attempt to recoup production costs Few labels survive economically from the music
business alone most combining such work with other occupations or businesses For
example in addition to Banana Records which has grown increasingly unprofitable
Wilson Ramirez owns a radio station Ritmo originally set up to promote his
recordings and a successful bakery chain
A large proportion of small-sized and medium-sized studios might be described as
lsquoinformalrsquo as they neither pay taxes nor register recordings with performersrsquo or
composersrsquo rights organisations or with the national intellectual property service
(SENAPI) Although rights to compositions and recordings can now be registered quitesimply and cheaply originario artistscomposers and producers often believe that a
notated score is required (as was formerly the case) that royalties will not be
forthcoming and that registration will not halt plagiarism With the pro-indigenous
presidency of Evo Morales newly-created originario musiciansrsquo organisations have
begun to confront a perceived sense of exclusion and discrimination by the existing
music royalty collection societies controlled by middle-class artists Such moves which
are often presented as a lsquocultural revolutionrsquo reflect a desire to gain greater equality
recognition and legitimacy Certain small-scale labels have also sought out ways to
become lsquolegitimatersquo and move into the formal sector a widely held aspiration in
Boliviarsquos highly informal economy18 Indeed according to Wilson Ramirez many
34 H Stobart
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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lobbied for the revision of the 1992 copyright law (law 1322) pressured the government
to tackle copyright infringement and censured the state for treating piracy as a lsquosocialrsquo
rather than a lsquolegalrsquo issue13 They also brought several cases against pirate producers to
the courts but the defendants although caught red-handed and admitting guilt
escaped punishment due to legal loopholes They were able to walk free and entirely unpunished because the two-year maximum jail term for copyright infringement (law
1322) is subject to judicial pardon (according to the Blatmann code of penal
procedure) and because fines are not included among the penalties
Despite the creation of a national intellectual property service (SENAPI) in 1999 and
unfulfilled plans to overhaul copyright and create a special police force dedicated to
enforcement (proposed by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in 2001)14 the
government demonstrated little motivation to combat piracy and respond to music
industry pressure This may be attributed in part to the political unpopularity of
enforcement the issues it raises concerning social inequality and its relatively low priority given the political turbulence of the early years of the millennium which
included the so-called Water Wars (2000) and Gas Wars (2003) By 2003 Bolivian
recording industry profits were estimated to have shrunk to around US$06 million15
and all of the major international labels had closed their Bolivian offices and left the
country Both Lauro and Heriba had also ceased trading and in this same year
Discolandia downsized to 20 staff (from 150 in 1995) Today Discolandia a long-
established label that has just celebrated its 50th anniversary is the only major record
label still trading in Bolivia Nonetheless many small low-budget digital studios of
varying degrees of informality are active around the country recording local artists for
regional markets where the low cost of their original products often competes with
pirate prices By contrast the high overheads and the constraints of the formal sector
alongside a desire to exploit international markets and maintain high profits have
meant that the large-scale labels made relatively few concessions on pricing Instead
labels such as Discolandia have focused on the production of high-quality recordings
often incorporating glossy informative booklets which are aimed at exclusive niche
markets able to pay international prices but which are well beyond the budget of the
Bolivian majority
In short the large-scale record industry which formerly dominated the market
through technological advantage enabled by high capital investment has almostentirely vanished In its place we find a multiplicity of small-scale labels or home
studios that use low-cost digital equipment requiring relatively little capital invest-
ment16 As one Cochabamba-based vendor explained
Many groups [now] prefer to record with other labels There are currently labelswhich are not like Lauro Heriba Discolandia or even letrsquos say Sony Music They are not like these [large-scale] labels they are small labels that offer the capacity torecord their product at low cost Very low cost Because in truth with thetechnology that has now appeared a console a simple console with a computeris more than sufficient to get started and to have two good microphones one forthe instrument the other for vocals You donrsquot need any more than this to make a
32 H Stobart
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studio And for a video production cameras and all these things are much cheapermaybe 500 dollars We are talking about a digital workstation which can createquality images and offer a product at lower costs Now all these situations can beoffered (Anonymous interview Cochabamba 24 January 2008)
This description of a small-scale home studio describes almost precisely theequipment used by the originario (indigenous) artistproducer Gregorio Mamani
whose work formed a central focus of my research and with whom I collaborated in the
production of several originario music videos Mamani hails from a rural peasant
community near Macha (see Figure 1) he is constantly constrained economically and
although a very well-known artist among low-income indigenous people of the region
he is almost unknown among the middle classes His work has been subject to high
levels of piracy against which he has long been an outspoken opponent However
piracy was also undoubtedly responsible for the international popularity of a VCD of
his music featuring his son the child star Vichito Mamani This piracy-generatedpopularity led the family to undertake concert tours of Peru Argentina and Bolivia in
2005 06 enabling Mamani to raise the modest capital necessary to set up a digital
studio While Mamanirsquos home studio and label (CEMBOL) is largely dedicated to
producing and promoting his own work a number of other labels primarily produce
the work of others
For example Cochabamba-based CG Records and Banana Records are both
established producers of originario musics and popular electronic genres such as
PERU
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CHILEARGENTINA
PARAGUAY
La Paz
Cusco
OruroCochabamba
Sucre
Potosiacute
Puno
SOUTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
L a k e T i t i c a c a
LakePoopo
A N D E S
M O U N T A I N S
Macha
Desaguadero
Iquique
Juliaca
Santa Cruz
Figure 1 Map showing principal locations mentioned in the text
Ethnomusicology Forum 33
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cumbia for low-income regional markets17 They started out respectively in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing cassettes of regional styles for an emergent mass
market
Formerly we used to produce cassettes Well the people of the countrysideidentified more with their [own] music they purchased this music and didnrsquot buy pirated versions So in our case it was better to dedicate ourselves to the massmarket which was more indigenous as is the case in Bolivia than to addressourselves to the central market that was already occupied by Chayanne Luis Migueland those kinds of foreign music (Wilson Ramirez Banana Records interview
Cochabamba 6 March 2008)
This reported tendency for indigenous people to buy originals would now seem to be
less in evidence with the escalation of mass piracy following the arrival of VCD
technology Although original VCDs of originario musics are far more widely available
than are those of neo-folkloric and international genres consumed by the middleclasses Wilson Ramirez asserts that lsquoof every ten discs sold we sell one original the
pirates [sell] ninersquo The effects of piracy have led to the changing of contractual
agreements between labels and artists where a recording fee is only offered to the most
established and successful artists Other artists are required to pay the label to produce
their work (Banana Records I was told charges US$500) and may be responsible for
their own distribution Labels rarely produce more than 1000 or 2000 copies of a new
release as the window of opportunity for selling originals before the market is flooded
by thousands of pirated copies is often only a matter of days Coordinating single-day
release in all the major markets around the country has thus become a standard strategy to attempt to recoup production costs Few labels survive economically from the music
business alone most combining such work with other occupations or businesses For
example in addition to Banana Records which has grown increasingly unprofitable
Wilson Ramirez owns a radio station Ritmo originally set up to promote his
recordings and a successful bakery chain
A large proportion of small-sized and medium-sized studios might be described as
lsquoinformalrsquo as they neither pay taxes nor register recordings with performersrsquo or
composersrsquo rights organisations or with the national intellectual property service
(SENAPI) Although rights to compositions and recordings can now be registered quitesimply and cheaply originario artistscomposers and producers often believe that a
notated score is required (as was formerly the case) that royalties will not be
forthcoming and that registration will not halt plagiarism With the pro-indigenous
presidency of Evo Morales newly-created originario musiciansrsquo organisations have
begun to confront a perceived sense of exclusion and discrimination by the existing
music royalty collection societies controlled by middle-class artists Such moves which
are often presented as a lsquocultural revolutionrsquo reflect a desire to gain greater equality
recognition and legitimacy Certain small-scale labels have also sought out ways to
become lsquolegitimatersquo and move into the formal sector a widely held aspiration in
Boliviarsquos highly informal economy18 Indeed according to Wilson Ramirez many
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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studio And for a video production cameras and all these things are much cheapermaybe 500 dollars We are talking about a digital workstation which can createquality images and offer a product at lower costs Now all these situations can beoffered (Anonymous interview Cochabamba 24 January 2008)
This description of a small-scale home studio describes almost precisely theequipment used by the originario (indigenous) artistproducer Gregorio Mamani
whose work formed a central focus of my research and with whom I collaborated in the
production of several originario music videos Mamani hails from a rural peasant
community near Macha (see Figure 1) he is constantly constrained economically and
although a very well-known artist among low-income indigenous people of the region
he is almost unknown among the middle classes His work has been subject to high
levels of piracy against which he has long been an outspoken opponent However
piracy was also undoubtedly responsible for the international popularity of a VCD of
his music featuring his son the child star Vichito Mamani This piracy-generatedpopularity led the family to undertake concert tours of Peru Argentina and Bolivia in
2005 06 enabling Mamani to raise the modest capital necessary to set up a digital
studio While Mamanirsquos home studio and label (CEMBOL) is largely dedicated to
producing and promoting his own work a number of other labels primarily produce
the work of others
For example Cochabamba-based CG Records and Banana Records are both
established producers of originario musics and popular electronic genres such as
PERU
BOLIVIA
BRAZIL
CHILEARGENTINA
PARAGUAY
La Paz
Cusco
OruroCochabamba
Sucre
Potosiacute
Puno
SOUTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
L a k e T i t i c a c a
LakePoopo
A N D E S
M O U N T A I N S
Macha
Desaguadero
Iquique
Juliaca
Santa Cruz
Figure 1 Map showing principal locations mentioned in the text
Ethnomusicology Forum 33
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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cumbia for low-income regional markets17 They started out respectively in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing cassettes of regional styles for an emergent mass
market
Formerly we used to produce cassettes Well the people of the countrysideidentified more with their [own] music they purchased this music and didnrsquot buy pirated versions So in our case it was better to dedicate ourselves to the massmarket which was more indigenous as is the case in Bolivia than to addressourselves to the central market that was already occupied by Chayanne Luis Migueland those kinds of foreign music (Wilson Ramirez Banana Records interview
Cochabamba 6 March 2008)
This reported tendency for indigenous people to buy originals would now seem to be
less in evidence with the escalation of mass piracy following the arrival of VCD
technology Although original VCDs of originario musics are far more widely available
than are those of neo-folkloric and international genres consumed by the middleclasses Wilson Ramirez asserts that lsquoof every ten discs sold we sell one original the
pirates [sell] ninersquo The effects of piracy have led to the changing of contractual
agreements between labels and artists where a recording fee is only offered to the most
established and successful artists Other artists are required to pay the label to produce
their work (Banana Records I was told charges US$500) and may be responsible for
their own distribution Labels rarely produce more than 1000 or 2000 copies of a new
release as the window of opportunity for selling originals before the market is flooded
by thousands of pirated copies is often only a matter of days Coordinating single-day
release in all the major markets around the country has thus become a standard strategy to attempt to recoup production costs Few labels survive economically from the music
business alone most combining such work with other occupations or businesses For
example in addition to Banana Records which has grown increasingly unprofitable
Wilson Ramirez owns a radio station Ritmo originally set up to promote his
recordings and a successful bakery chain
A large proportion of small-sized and medium-sized studios might be described as
lsquoinformalrsquo as they neither pay taxes nor register recordings with performersrsquo or
composersrsquo rights organisations or with the national intellectual property service
(SENAPI) Although rights to compositions and recordings can now be registered quitesimply and cheaply originario artistscomposers and producers often believe that a
notated score is required (as was formerly the case) that royalties will not be
forthcoming and that registration will not halt plagiarism With the pro-indigenous
presidency of Evo Morales newly-created originario musiciansrsquo organisations have
begun to confront a perceived sense of exclusion and discrimination by the existing
music royalty collection societies controlled by middle-class artists Such moves which
are often presented as a lsquocultural revolutionrsquo reflect a desire to gain greater equality
recognition and legitimacy Certain small-scale labels have also sought out ways to
become lsquolegitimatersquo and move into the formal sector a widely held aspiration in
Boliviarsquos highly informal economy18 Indeed according to Wilson Ramirez many
34 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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cumbia for low-income regional markets17 They started out respectively in the late
1980s and early 1990s producing cassettes of regional styles for an emergent mass
market
Formerly we used to produce cassettes Well the people of the countrysideidentified more with their [own] music they purchased this music and didnrsquot buy pirated versions So in our case it was better to dedicate ourselves to the massmarket which was more indigenous as is the case in Bolivia than to addressourselves to the central market that was already occupied by Chayanne Luis Migueland those kinds of foreign music (Wilson Ramirez Banana Records interview
Cochabamba 6 March 2008)
This reported tendency for indigenous people to buy originals would now seem to be
less in evidence with the escalation of mass piracy following the arrival of VCD
technology Although original VCDs of originario musics are far more widely available
than are those of neo-folkloric and international genres consumed by the middleclasses Wilson Ramirez asserts that lsquoof every ten discs sold we sell one original the
pirates [sell] ninersquo The effects of piracy have led to the changing of contractual
agreements between labels and artists where a recording fee is only offered to the most
established and successful artists Other artists are required to pay the label to produce
their work (Banana Records I was told charges US$500) and may be responsible for
their own distribution Labels rarely produce more than 1000 or 2000 copies of a new
release as the window of opportunity for selling originals before the market is flooded
by thousands of pirated copies is often only a matter of days Coordinating single-day
release in all the major markets around the country has thus become a standard strategy to attempt to recoup production costs Few labels survive economically from the music
business alone most combining such work with other occupations or businesses For
example in addition to Banana Records which has grown increasingly unprofitable
Wilson Ramirez owns a radio station Ritmo originally set up to promote his
recordings and a successful bakery chain
A large proportion of small-sized and medium-sized studios might be described as
lsquoinformalrsquo as they neither pay taxes nor register recordings with performersrsquo or
composersrsquo rights organisations or with the national intellectual property service
(SENAPI) Although rights to compositions and recordings can now be registered quitesimply and cheaply originario artistscomposers and producers often believe that a
notated score is required (as was formerly the case) that royalties will not be
forthcoming and that registration will not halt plagiarism With the pro-indigenous
presidency of Evo Morales newly-created originario musiciansrsquo organisations have
begun to confront a perceived sense of exclusion and discrimination by the existing
music royalty collection societies controlled by middle-class artists Such moves which
are often presented as a lsquocultural revolutionrsquo reflect a desire to gain greater equality
recognition and legitimacy Certain small-scale labels have also sought out ways to
become lsquolegitimatersquo and move into the formal sector a widely held aspiration in
Boliviarsquos highly informal economy18 Indeed according to Wilson Ramirez many
34 H Stobart
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
Ethnomusicology Forum 35
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 37
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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apparently licit medium-sized and small-sized labels originally raised the capital
necessary to set up studios through piracy and some continue such practices
clandestinely19 He identified this shadowy aspect of the activities of many record
labels as a key impediment to mounting a unified campaign against piracy
From Vendors to Pirates
and from Audio to Video
For many vendors to whom I spoke selling recorded music was part of a lifelong family
trade that had begun with selling vinyl discs back in the 1970s or 1980s For example
Emilio a vendor in his late 50s who runs a stall beside the market in the centre of the
town of Sucre explained that he entered the business out of a love of music
For more than twenty years Irsquove dedicated myself to music something Irsquom really passionate about Irsquom really fond of music It is a fine thing to devote oneself to this
profession and to tell [you] how more than twenty years ago I began selling vinyldiscs that I imported from Argentina [in those days] there were only gramophones Then around twenty years ago vinyl discs [began to be] recordedonto cassette The cassette was at its zenith and you could make good money recording making [dubbed] recordings and selling vinyl discs too
At that time here in Bolivia there were also vinyl discs [produced by] variousrecord labels based in this country like Lauro Heriba and Discolandia which werethe largest companies And after some time unfortunately [vinyl discs]disappeared and a new type of music technology appeared that of the CDWell this was the motive for the disappearance of the lsquooriginalrsquo product this wasthe point of departure for the start of piracy But this is something that was not
born here in this country rather the technology that motivated piracy came fromabroad Today it is very difficult to stop but even so I say now is a good timebecause the only ones who benefited from the original product were the big recordcompanies based in this country (Emilio interview Mercado Central Sucre 20December 2007)
As is evident from this testimony shifts in technology have gradually led the business of
selling music almost necessarily and imperceptibly to take on illegal dimensions
lsquoWe are now being called piratesrsquo some retailers complained although they considered
that their work of selling music had in essence remained the same With the growing
availability of cassette technology from the early 1980s many vendors began to satisfy customer demand by recording music from vinyl LPs onto cassette tape As in many
other parts of the world this more compact and cheaper format with its portable
battery-powered reproduction equipment opened up a whole new series of popular
urban and rural markets for recorded music (Manuel 1993) Reduced equipment costs
and the lower capital required also led to the development of many new small-scale
production companies dedicated to local and niche markets (see also Ochoa and Yudice
2002 7) Bus and lorry cassette players now provided the soundtrack to any journey
and the portable radio-cassette player became a fashion accessory and status symbol in
even the most far flung rural communities even if rarely heard due to the high cost of
batteries (Stobart 2006 8)
Ethnomusicology Forum 35
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
36 H Stobart
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 37
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
38 H Stobart
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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The relatively high cost of original cassettes meant that in poorer areas it was
common for vendors to copy cassettes on demand Many consumers considered the
low fidelity of dubbed cassettes of little relevance as reproduction equipment was
often cheap low quality and poorly maintained Alongside small-scale dubbing by
local vendors large-scale cassette piracy (and VHS video piracy) gradually began togrow especially during the 1990s Thus cassette piracy in Bolivia was already highly
developed and organised with significant levels of production and investment well
before the widespread availability of digital technology For example a 1999
newspaper report cites examples of pirates using 60 interconnected recorders to
produce 120 cassettes every 10 minutes and industrial machinery capable of copying
music on to 200 cassettes in 5 minutes the equipment costing many thousands of
dollars20
In his testimony above it is notable that Emilio identifies the rise of lsquopiracy rsquo with the
CD rather than the cassette where as discussed below the CD has remainedassociated with the middle classes Besides the irony that the record industry initially
championed the CD as a means to circumvent cassette piracy (Manuel 1993 88) this
suggests that Bolivian vendors did not really view their small-scale cassette dubbing as
illegal or as lsquopiracy rsquo Nowadays vendors tend to be quite candid about their involvement
in piracy and whilst aware that it is illegal they rarely have reason to fear law
enforcement Indeed I have witnessed police officers browsing stalls of VCDs evidently
with purchase in mind rather than control (Figure 2)
Although previously available at very high cost CDs and CD players only began to
become common in Bolivia from around 1995 and then only among the urban middleclasses The arrival of this technology opened a window of opportunity for large-scale
CD piracy as it was not until several years later that computers with disc burners
became generally available and affordable While the audio CD is widely available in
many of Boliviarsquos major towns it has continued to remain largely restricted to middle-
class consumers and genres such as neo-folklore rock art music and international
musics By contrast among poorer sectors of the population especially those who
primarily consume originario genres and popular styles such as cumbia the seemingly
logical technological sequence from cassette to CD never really happened Instead the
move to digital technology involved a shift directly from audio-cassette to audio-visual
VCD format and more recently to DVD with the growing ubiquity of cheap multi-
format reproduction equipment Thus for many poorer Bolivians the arrival of digital
music has in effect meant the arrival of the music video a shift from audio to audio-
visual which in certain respects radically transforms the experience and ontology of the
music21 The release of the first originario music VCD in around 2003 alongside
dramatic reductions in the cost of reproduction equipment led this format to quickly
dominate the market22 It has now become almost unthinkable to produce a recording
for the popular indigenous market without video images In addition many lsquoclassicrsquo
recordings from the 1980s have been re-released with videos typically showing a star
who has aged by several decades miming instrumentalists quite different from those
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 37
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
Ethnomusicology Forum 39
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
40 H Stobart
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 41
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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heard on the soundtrack and young female dancers who may not have been born when
the music was recorded
The arrival of the VCD and increasingly in its wake the DVD also stimulated an
upsurge in levels of large-scale piracy using existing CD replication equipment This
was a response to a huge new market of emergent consumers among poorer more
Figure 2 A police of ficer examining a stall of pirated discs in the Mercado Campesino
(lsquoPeasant Marketrsquo) Sucre Bolivia with a view to purchase rather than to control
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 37
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
Ethnomusicology Forum 39
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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indigenous sectors of the population but also to expanding middle-class markets for
cheap and diverse forms of entertainment As elsewhere in the world piracy facilitates
access to a far broader range of entertainment and cultural resources than is possible via
formal regulated networks (Wang 2003 91) For example the variety of pirated
international music genres and films now available in Sucrersquos city centre would havebeen unthinkable in the 1990sThese include a wide selection of classic European art-
house films and offers to source non-mainstream items on demand Thus the lsquoaccessrsquo
aspect of piracy is by no means only about offering products at greatly reduced prices
As many educated middle-class consumers stressed to me the great lsquoadvantagersquo
(ventaja ) of piracy is that it offers cultural resources that formal regulated networks had
denied them in the past
The Economics and Politics of Circulation Mass Piracy and Peru
For the second part of this essay the focus shifts to the dynamics of large-scale
international piracy and in particular the domination of Boliviarsquos market for
pirated music by Peruvian producers To explore this theme we travel to the Peru
Bolivia border town of Desaguadero and examine the kinds of national imaginaries
and economic realities that sustained Perursquos albeit now declining control of this
market
Until recently much of the pirated music sold and consumed in Bolivia was supplied
by large-scale foreign producers According to a vendor consulted in Sucre much was
formerly smuggled into the country from Colombia and Paraguay23
But by December2007 when we spoke he estimated that some 70 of the pirated music discs sold in
the city were produced in Peru In the early years of the millennium distribution to
local Bolivian vendors was dominated by a relatively small number of dealers who
travelled to Peru to collect merchandise or acted as local agents responsible for
distributing shipments sent on long-haul buses Carlos a Cochabamba-based vendor
who openly labels his products El Super Pirata DJ (lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo) explained that
when he set up his business in around 2000 he was one of the first lsquosmall-scalersquo
(minorista ) CD pirates The use of computers presented little challenge to him thanks
to his training as a systems analyst At the time the market was apparently dominatedby a small number of lsquolarge-scalersquo (mayorista ) pirates
When I began this business there were only about four majors four large-scale
pirates who delivered their CDs everywhere They had their sellers who would take
letrsquos say 2000 CDs to one place [where the vendors] would choose what they
wanted and then take them to the next place In the day they would dispose of the
2000 CDs wholesale and in the night go to collect the money owed There were
four letrsquos put it at six [distributors] say I knew these people [but] nowadays these
guys have given up delivering wholesale because so many people have now bought
their own computer and can make copies [themselves] (Carlos interview
Cochabamba January 2008)
38 H Stobart
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
Ethnomusicology Forum 39
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
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Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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Vendors also told me how they used the mobile telephone numbers of distributors
based in La Paz or Desaguadero to order stock and sometimes despatched new Bolivian
releases to Peru for mass disc copying For example a vendor in Potos ı explained how
when a new VCD of Potosı-based Las Conquistadoras was released the distribution
network was used to send it to Peru where a new cover was designed and printed andthousands of copies of the disc burnt and sent back to Bolivia I sometimes heard large-
scale Peruvian producers (mayoristas ) presented as the real villains of piracy and lsquopoorrsquo
Bolivian vendors as victims of the system but the practice of actively sending new
releases by local artists to be copied in Peru might be seen to undermine this kind of
moral argument and implicate vendors as critical cogs in the piracy machine
The Bolivia Peru border town of Desaguadero situated near Lake Titicaca is a key
transit point for the passage of goods between these two nations many of them
surreptitiously smuggled by the many small-scale traders who flock in minibuses
trucks cars and coaches to the townrsquos three main market days each week Desaguaderowas already a well-established centre for the supply of pirated CDs and cassettes for the
Bolivian market in 2000 when as part of an anti-piracy campaign Oscar Prieto of
the Bolivian label Discolandia took part in an undercover operation aimed at exposing
the music piracy issue for a television documentary He travelled to Desaguadero
together with two journalists a television cameraman with a covert tie-pin camera and
two special police officers The group arrived on a Thursday evening and learned how
contraband rice sugar pasta gas and other products are smuggled from Bolivia into
Peru every night without any form of control According to Prieto the only products to
pass in the other direction from Peru into Bolivia were pirated CDs cassettes a few
plastic items and blankets But these blankets were in fact manufactured in Bolivia andtaken to Desaguadero or Juliaca to be relabelled with a Peruvian lsquotigerrsquo trade mark
before being shipped back into Bolivia and passed off as Peruvian products As Prieto
stressed this reflects a widespread and longstanding lack of national pride in home-
produced products where Bolivian consumers tend to opt for what they consider
lsquobetter made and more reliablersquo imported international goods and avoid lsquopoor quality rsquo
national ones
The following day the team wandered around Desaguaderorsquos Friday market and
pretended to be dealers wishing to purchase a large quantity of the CDs of the then
highly popular Bolivian neo-folklore groups Kjarkas Bolivia and Llajtaymanta Onestall claiming to be a distributor did not have the necessary quantity in stock but
offered to take them to the factory in exchange for a deposit to secure the deal On
receipt of a down-payment they were taken to the nearby village of Zepita a car
journey of around 15 minutes
We arrived there and in truth we entered a house of several floors which did notlook much from the outside but inside it was very comfortable with several largerooms where we came across a huge number of reproduction machines CDcopiers as well as for cassettes and we saw tables But it was incredible The tableswere full of CDs packed up ready to be taken to Bolivia to be distributed at a locallevel which they [organise] Well there we told them that we required two
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
40 H Stobart
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 41
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 43
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
44 H Stobart
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
46 H Stobart
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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thousand [copies] of one two thousand of another and a thousand of another wewanted five thousand units They said they could make them for us but that wewould have to wait until Saturday and they would deliver them directly to us inDesaguadero (Oscar Prieto interview 3 April 2008)
However back in Desaguadero the cameraman had the idea of taking some footage of the market with his large television camera which he had left in their lodgings After
seeking permission from the Peruvian police he started filming but the team was
recognised and their subterfuge exposed A group of angry lsquopiratesrsquo encircled them and
threatened to beat them up forcing the cameraman to hand over the film before the
police helped the team escape back over the border into Bolivia Only the footage from
the tie-pin camera survived to be shown on television Both Prieto and many
newspaper articles from the early years of the millennium compared large-scale music
pirates (mayoristas ) with drug barons who run violent mafia-like organisations and
have the wealth and power to corrupt and control the police and other authorities24
Illegal Aliens in Peru
With some trepidation I also made the journey to Desaguadero and Juliaca to
research piracy in April 2008 accompanied for safety by an art-student friend from
La Paz Julio Katari We attended the Friday market in Desaguadero and along with
vast numbers of Bolivian traders wandered across the border into the Peruvian part
of the town (Figure 3) No attempt was made to check our papers the border officials
were conspicuous only by their absence Once across the frontier we immediately
encountered scores of shops and stalls offering wholesale quantities of pirated VCDsfeaturing Bolivian artists including originario performers such as Gregorio Mamani
(Figure 4) Purchases were made using Bolivian currency to ease cross-border sales
and discs were supplied in small clear plastic bags that also enclosed a colour printed
paper cover sheet or la mina Discs typically sold for 2Bs (US$029) each or 120Bs
(US$017) for bulk purchases25 Although we encountered much small-scale surface
level smuggling as laden bicycle taxis and pedestrians constantly crossed the border
this is apparently minor compared with the large-scale smuggling that happens under
cover of darkness
One Peruvian vendor told me that she had taken up this trade a year ago havingpreviously run a stall selling hot food She considered that the profits from these two
economic activities were much the same and very limited lsquo just enough to feed the
family rsquo I also conversed with a vendor-supplier who had trained as a graphic artist
owned a permanent shop directly opposite the frontier and clearly worked on a much
larger scale He explained that there was still enough profit from his trade for him to
lsquoenjoy himself rsquo but that this had reduced dramatically compared with five years earlier
when lsquopiracy was the best business of allrsquo and prices were double or triple today rsquos Then
it was so lucrative that lsquoif one month you invested $1000 the following month you
would have $3000 or $4000rsquo whereas now lsquopeople just make enough to subsistrsquo He
directly identified this slump in prices with the arrival of the VCD format on the
40 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 41
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
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market it had rapidly eclipsed the CD that alongside the cassette had offered immense
opportunities for large-scale pirates He observed (echoing Carlos lsquoDJ Super Piratersquo
above) that the market had formerly been cornered by a few large-scale outfits with the
resources to invest in very expensive mass reproduction equipment Five years earlier a
disc burner capable of copying 10 discs at a time apparently cost around $8000 but
when we spoke in 2008 the same equipment was retailing for about $600 In short such
equipment had become accessible to many more people greatly increasing competi-
tion and reducing the prices of copied discs26
Cover Story
The interior of this supplierrsquos shop included many shelves stacked with piles of colour
printed sheets created for particular music videos and films (Figure 5) The growing
tendency for vendors and local suppliers to copy their own discs has given rise to a new
trade in high-quality printed paper cover sheets (la minas ) which are an important
means of identifying products as discs are otherwise indistinguishable from one
another La minas can also help confer the illusion of quality and authenticity
To enhance this impression Peruvian lsquopiratersquo graphic designers often add bar codes
Figure 3 Friday market in the border town of Desaguadero View from the Peruvian side
of the frontier looking back into Bolivia
Source Photograph by Henry Stobart 2008
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
44 H Stobart
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
46 H Stobart
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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spurious technical information and even anti-piracy warnings to the new la minas they
create It is also notable that the artwork although typically incorporating elements
from the original cover or video images captured from the VCD itself is designed to
look different from the original and is often presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo
(Figure 6ab) This contrasts with other parts of the world (and certain areas of the
Peruvian market) where pirates often favour artwork that is identical to and ideally
indistinguishable from the original
Some former large-scale producers and distributors of copied discs have now branched out into producing and selling covers for which high capital investment in
expensive printing equipment once again confers technological advantage Specialisa-
tion in the sale of la minas has also developed in Bolivia and one such La Paz-based
vendor his shop hidden away behind curtains in a market informed me that he pays
his suppliers around 025Bs (US$0035) for each colour printed sheet and retails it for
about 05Bs (US$007) His stock was imported via Desaguadero but mainly printed in
Lima because in his view the quality of printing in La Paz lsquois not very goodrsquo once again
highlighting widespread Bolivian low self-esteem as regards national manufacturing In
my own experience however the printing offered in La Paz is both high in quality and
economical Although capacity and willingness to participate in piracy may also be
Figure 4 Bolivian vendors selecting bulk quantities of VCDs (for resale in Bolivia) at a
supplierrsquos street stall in Desaguadero Peru
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
Ethnomusicology Forum 43
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
46 H Stobart
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 1731
significant I wish to suggest that national values and imaginaries have been decisive in
Perursquos hold over the Bolivian pirate disc and la mina market
Border Crossings and National Imaginaries
As elsewhere in the world economic factors such as price and currency differential tax
law production cost and availability of raw materials mean that there is often money to
be made (or lost) through trading or smuggling goods across national borders But
such boundaries also involve the interplay of national and cultural imaginaries they
can be fantastical staging posts where the meanings and value of goods are transformed
as if by magic Indeed the way Desaguaderorsquos illegal activity is shrouded in secrecy risk
Figure 5 Shelves piled with colour printed paper cover sheets (laminas) to accompany
pirated VCD discs
Source Photograph by Julio Katari 2008
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Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
46 H Stobart
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 1831
Figure 6 (a) Zura zura original cover (lamina ) of an originario music video (VCD)
produced by Gregorio Mamani for Carnival 2008 (b) Zura zura new cover for a pirated
version of Gregorio Mamanirsquos 2008 Carnival video that appeared a few weeks after the
release of the original It is presented as a lsquospecial editionrsquo and includes bogus technical
information a bar code and an anti-piracy warning lsquoDONrsquoT BUY PIRATED GOODS
BUY AN ORIGINAL Prohibited the reproduction expression or loan of this item and its
radio broadcast or public performance all rights of the worksrsquo authors and of the record
producer reservedrsquo
44 H Stobart
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
46 H Stobart
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
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Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
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Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
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Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
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wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
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13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
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Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
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Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
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Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
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Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
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Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
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University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
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Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
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Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
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emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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unpredictability and the promise of riches has striking parallels with Andean beliefs
about acquiring illegitimate wealth through pacts with the devil (Absi 2005 Taussig
1980) But here I wish to focus on some of the mutual imaginings that underlie and
shape the flow of goods between Peru and Bolivia such as the widespread and deep-
seated conviction among Bolivians that Peruvian (or other internationally) producedgoods are of better quality than their own This leads retailers to validate a productrsquos
quality and command higher prices by claiming (sometimes falsely) its Peruvian or
Argentine origins and to the paradoxical practice (noted above) of re-labelling
Bolivian blankets as Peruvian But an obsession for imported goods is often
accompanied by a deep mistrust of the places these goods come from as Peter
Geschiere (2001 44) has observed for the case of Cameroon Similarly Bolivians
commonly stereotype Peruvians as devious opportunist and dishonest and associate
them with criminality indeed periodic robberies and muggings by Peruvians tend to
be greatly exaggerated in the popular imagination27
Set against widespread discourses of Bolivian national economic and technological
inferiority are those of moral superiority and cultural wealth often identified with the
country rsquos indigenous character and heritage Bolivian self-identification as creators of
culture is reflected in the way Peruvians (and Chileans) are accused of appropriating
Bolivian musics dances and styles of dress and claiming them as their own For
example the strong nationalist associations of the diablada dance with Bolivia have led
to controversy around claims that it originated in Puno Peru This ongoing dispute was
ignited again in February 2009 with the provocative posting of video images of Punorsquos
diablada on Youtube as Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana (lsquoPeruvian Diablada1000 Peruvianrsquo)28 A torrent of often abusive comments claims and counter-claims
about the origins and ownership of the dance ensued The following example evidently
from a Peruvian provides a flavour
What is it that hurts you ignorant dirty and lazy Bolivians What hurts is that we
are superior to you Concern yourselves about something else The diablada isPeruvian you ignorant lot [ ] and more than that itrsquos from Puno 100
Retards29
This highly charged language highlights some of the effects of the rise of heritage and
identity politics in recent years Conflict has undoubtedly been further exacerbated by UNESCO proclaiming Boliviarsquos Oruro Carnival with which the diablada dance is
intimately identified as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
in 200130 Notable in the above quotation is the stereotyping of Bolivians as inferior
where common racial typecasting as indios tercos y cerrados (lsquoclosed-minded stubborn
Indiansrsquo) invokes a more indigenous aspect to the population (Fiorella Montero Diaz
personal communication 2009) Nonetheless since the presidency of Evo Morales
(since 2006) and the rise of indigenous politics more generally Bolivian identification
with indigeneity has often become a matter of national pride identity and a source of
power (Canessa 2006) often attracting transnational support and alliances with
amongst others Peruvian indigenous groups
Ethnomusicology Forum 45
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
46 H Stobart
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
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emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
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In the light of such complex mutual nationalist imaginaries it is striking how the
mass piracy of Bolivian music for the Bolivian market has been located in Peru31 This
seems all the more curious given that most of the raw materials and equipment used by
Peruvian pirates enter the country from Bolivia Pirate disc wholesalers in Desaguadero
explained that Chinese-produced and Taiwanese-produced blank discs and discburning equipment are shipped into the Chilean free port of Iquique and travel
overland by lorry to Peru via Desaguadero32 They identified the Bolivian commercial
centre of Oruro as a key transit point and presented this trade as legal However
according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA 2007 364)
significant quantities of contraband travel into Peru from Iquique avoiding border
duties and official 2005 Peruvian customs statistics reported that Perursquos largest
importer of blank media had moved to Iquique thereby perhaps enabling large-scale
Peruvian pirates to undercut Bolivian prices
In other words Peruvian music piracy might be seen to have acted as a kind of service industry for the Bolivian market The raw materials equipment and
original products enter Peru from Bolivia and then after accruing value are
returned to Bolivia for marketing Although the economics and politics of such
circulation might appear illogical there is nothing new about exploiting low-cost
raw materials from perceived economically and technologically lsquoweakerrsquo nations to
make products that can be sold back to such nations at a profit In this context it
should be stressed that Perursquos population (just under 30 million) is three times
larger than Boliviarsquos and its Gross Deometic Product (GDP) is over six times
greater (250 billion to Boliviarsquos 44 billion)33 This has clearly contributed to Perursquos
dominant position as regards capital investment industrial development andcontrol of markets34 Self-identification as a technologically lsquoweak rsquo nation has been
particularly pervasive in Bolivia and although disastrous for the development of
the nationrsquos industries may be seen to serve the interests of the many traders of
contraband goods on both sides of the frontier Indeed this might be seen as a
symptom of Boliviarsquos exceptionally informal economy where money is to be
made even if in very small quantities from the circulation of goods along
trajectories shaped by national imaginaries
Townspeople of Desaguadero told me that as the townrsquos economy is almost
entirely dependent on smuggling and black-market practices over-zealous borderofficials are not tolerated and attempts to crack down on smuggling are met with
fierce resistance However the roads on either side of the frontier are often policed
by customs officials and certain Bolivian vendors reported how the confiscation of
the discs they had purchased had almost put them out of business Thus in order
to minimise risk vendors rarely carry more than 100 500 discs at any one time
and make regular weekly trips (Jordan 2008) Control of the route into Bolivia
intensified after an attempt was made by the Bolivian Government to clamp down
on gas smuggling in 2008 Bolivia is rich in natural gas which accounts for around
19 of GDP (and over 50 of exports) but some 30 of the 10-kg cylinders sold
in Bolivia at subsidised prices were being smuggled to Peru where they could be
46 H Stobart
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
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heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
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For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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sold for almost five times the price In June 2008 a ceremony to mark the
inauguration of a military garrison in Desaguadero to control smuggling was met
by a violent mob of townspeople which hounded the military detachment out of
town before ransacking and burning the customs offices Although perhaps only
temporarily this led to tighter control of the roads leading to and fromDesaguadero in turn making the journey to purchase Peruvian-produced VCD
and DVD discs more hazardous for Bolivian vendors and dealers
Localising Production and Landscapes of Piracy
Dramatic reductions in the cost of disc-reproduction equipment alongside the
growing risks involved with travelling to Peru have led many vendors to abandon
purchasing discs in Desaguadero One DVD vendor in La Paz who for many years had
travelled to Desaguadero every Friday to purchase stock listed the advantages of relying
on local Bolivian producers It saved her a day of lost sales 40Bs (US$6) bus fare to
Desaguadero and the risk of confiscation by customs officials Greater customer
satisfaction could also be achieved as faulty DVDs could be returned to the producer
and replaced However she also stressed that her overall profits have fallen
dramatically a few years earlier she had paid a wholesale price of 10Bs (US$136) for
each DVD and resold it for 20Bs (US$272) When we spoke in April 2008 the
wholesale price was 5Bs and the retail price 8Bs meaning a profit of only 3Bs (US$040)
per DVD She attributed this to the recent economic downturn and rise in the cost of
food like many other Bolivians at this time she blamed this on mismanagement by the
Morales Government rather than on wider global forces Despite a general trendtowards localising pirate production in Bolivia variations in price region markets and
individual economic circumstances as well as access to multiple disc burners (which
were very rare in Sucre in 2008) mean that such localisation is not universal and
pirated music from Peru continues to enter the Bolivian market35
More generally there is considerable variation in the pricing of pirated DVDs VCDs
and CDs dependent on format genre quality of presentation vendor competition
region and locality within a particular town or city In cities such as Potosı and Sucre it
was common in 2008 for both pirated and original VCDs (by regional originario artists)
to be sold for the same standard price of 10Bs (when presented in a plastic case)36
Many local originario (indigenous) artists based in these towns whose work is typically
destined for a popular indigenous migrant audience own stalls in poorer market areas
Such artists sometimes travel vast distances around the country to distribute their discs
to vendors personally This enables them to police the piracy of their work and build
relationships of mutual dependence and trust with vendors who often share similar
cultural backgrounds In short I wish to argue that lsquosocial and cultural intimacy rsquo can
work against piracy37
This helps to explain why for example lsquooriginalrsquo VCDs are widely available in the
poorer peripheral market areas of Sucre whereas paradoxically none are offered in the
more upmarket city centre with its beautiful colonial churches and university
Ethnomusicology Forum 47
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2231
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2331
heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2431
For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
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bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
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8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2731
[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
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[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2231
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2331
heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2431
For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2531
bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2631
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2731
[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2831
[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2331
heterogeneity they stress a diversity of regional local urban rural or ethnic identities
they offer contrasting music aesthetics and values and they often reflect internal
national issues and struggles There is also a youthful aspect to such developments not
only are young people more at home than their elders with digital technologies but
with over 35 of Boliviarsquos population under 15 years of age and a median age of under22 years immense potential for individual agency in small-scale music production lies
ahead40 Despite the near complete demise of Boliviarsquos large-scale record industry it
appears that the overall number of recordings being released has increased as have the
sectors of the population now consuming such media It is now commonplace for low-
income consumers to own a sizeable collection of cheap VCDs although low disc
quality frequent faults and the mediumrsquos intrinsic fragility mean that many quickly
become unusable People sometimes contrasted the throwaway and ephemeral quality
of music VCDs which tend to be lsquowatchedrsquo a few times for their visual novelties with
their multiple lsquolisteningsrsquo to the more robust audio cassette a format that remainsimportant to the originario music market Thus in the shift from analogue audio
(cassette) to digital audio-visual (VCD DVD) music-reception habits aesthetics and
priorities have also transformed For example the rise of the VCD music video was
according to some consultants directly responsible for the growth in popularity of
originario charango songs eclipsing previously dominant electronic genres such as
cumbia However this may also in part be attributed to the key role played by charango
songs in the pro-indigenous election campaign and landslide victory of Evo Morales in
December 2005 and to the rise of indigenous politics more generally Thus in certain
respects technological developments have moved in parallel with and may even haveunderscored political ones
While considerable growth is evident in low-budget recordings releases of new high-
quality recordings for middle-class markets appear to have declined For example
many internationally touring neo-folklore groups have abandoned releasing music for
the domestic market instead restricting CD sales to concert tours in Europe and Japan
Other artists notably some of those specialising in rock and popular electronic musics
have chosen to view pirate vendors as the new distributors or promoters selling
original recordings to vendors for resale or handing them over free of charge for mass
replication and circulation as also documented for the case of techno brega in Belem
Northern Brazil (Lemos 2009)41 As in many other parts of the world recorded music
appears to be acquiring a primarily promotional role rather than having a direct
income-generating function According to this model recordings serve as a form of
lsquovisiting cardrsquo and artists gain income from live performance and other related
activities In some cases Bolivian artists pay lsquopiratesrsquo to replicate their work which they
then distribute themselves or even pay larger-scale national pirates with monopolies
over particular markets a monthly fee to promote their work (Jordan 2008) In other
words lsquopiratesrsquo have come to exploit many of the same market strategies that lsquolicitrsquo
record producers and distributors formerly used to control the market and to turn
particular recordings into hits
Ethnomusicology Forum 49
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2431
For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2531
bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2631
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2731
[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2831
[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2431
For many Bolivians to whom I spoke music piracy was presented in terms of access
to knowledge and culture and related to book and software piracy on which the
national economy and education system are highly dependent In this context it is
hardly surprising that successive governments have dragged their feet in the face of
ongoing pressure to step up copyright enforcement from international intellectualproperty organisations such as the IIPA and the Business Software Alliance This also
helps explain why governments might have chosen to view piracy as a social issue rather
than purely a legal one (a criticism levelled at the government in certain newspaper
articles supporting the intellectual property industries) In Bolivia failure to enforce
copyright seems to be less an issue of weak local-level bureaucracy as Mertha (2005
137) has suggested for the case of China than a lack of will at state level copyright is a
low priority especially given the low levels of intellectual property exports42 Given the
complexities of current Bolivia US relations and the loss of US bargaining power
through Boliviarsquos expulsion from the Andean Trade Preference Act external pressureseems unlikely to increase Bolivian copyright enforcement in the near future43
Nonetheless it is possible that internal dynamics developed from a desire to protect
control and develop indigenous intellectual property (as detailed in the new national
constitution ratified by national referendum in 2009) may prove more consequential
Indeed it is common to hear Bolivian vendors express concern to protect national
cultural production and certain (lsquopiratersquo) vendor unions have sought to become
legitimate distributors entering into contracts with artists However their attempts to
work more formally and on a larger scale with music producers have often been dogged
on both sides by cultural differences and a sense of mutual distrust As one well-known
composer and music producer put it
It was an ideal proposal but it never worked because obviously we are talking aboutpeople who have lived all their lives from informal work In other words they neverpay anyone a penny never pay taxes live from the work of others and are notdisposed nor are going to become disposed to change this (Oscar Garciainterview La Paz 3 April 2008)
Conversely vendor union representatives complained to me that the producers had
wanted to dump thousands of out-of-date and second-rate recordings on them which
they would then be unable to sell It remains unclear how much such initiatives topromote legitimate distribution will shape the future landscape of Bolivian recorded
music marketing and whether and in what ways the state might intervene to protect
and promote national cultural production Vendor unionsrsquo attempts to support
national production have found it difficult to control their members and to achieve
agreement with other unions as well as to confront competition from non-unionised
lsquopiratersquo traders But it is also clear that heavy-handed enforcement is likely to be
counter-productive and given the increasingly democratised character of piracy to
lead to considerable hardship among the most vulnerable sectors of the population
The rampant reproduction of recorded music brought about by cheap digital
technology and piracy has radically transformed the Bolivian music business
50 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2531
bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2631
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2731
[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2831
[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2531
bringing benefits for some but also hardship and even disaster for others Artists were
divided about the impact of these changes most condemning piracy while welcoming
the new opportunities provided by the digital revolution While for some piracy was
lsquolike the cancer of music as there is no curersquo for others it was simply part and parcel
of the global shifts in technology which offer both new opportunities and new challenges and which require new strategies It is worth remembering that despite
such seismic shifts in the landscape of recorded music most Bolivian artists (even
some of the best-known regional singer songwriters) have always needed to combine
music with other forms of economic activity and for the majority this was no
different before the rise of piracy
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the many musicians record producers vendors lsquopiratersquo suppliers and
others involved in the production registration consumption and policy regardingmusic in Bolivia and Peru who have generously given their time towards this research
Due to the sensitivities surrounding aspects of this business I have often preserved
anonymity Nonetheless I wish to express gratitude to Julio Katari who accompanied
me on the journey to Peru Susanna Rance for her friendship and hospitality in La Paz
and Oscar Prieto of Discolandia who in addition to several extended interviews kindly
allowed me to make a photocopy of his collection of press cuttings relating to piracy
The Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) La Paz especially Varinia Oros
and director Ramiro Molina have also been wonderfully supportive of this research
Thanks to the anonymous reviewers and to Stephen Cottrell and Hettie Malcomson fortheir generous feedback on earlier drafts of this essay Finally I gratefully acknowledge
the support of the British Academy (wwwbritacacuk ) and the UK Arts and
Humanities Research Council (wwwahrcacuk )
Notes
[1] As Kusek and Leonhard (2005 45 6) observe lsquosince a digital copy of a media object is exactly
like the original but does not in any way deplete it or remove it from further use one can
hardly compare this to the world of physical goods where the use or possession of a product
usually removes the possibility of someone owning the very same productrsquo Lessig (2004 146)has also noted how every use of the Internet produces a copy thereby leading content to
become ubiquitous and has critiqued the way copyright ownersrsquo control has expanded as
each copy is regulated by existing laws designed for physical property
[2] I use the highly unsatisfactory terms lsquoglobal northrsquo and lsquoglobal southrsquo with reluctance to
highlight global inequalities as regards access to technology levels of poverty and
infrastructure The implications of other terms such as lsquoDeveloped Worldrsquo or lsquoThird
Worldrsquo seem even more problematic
[3] Arguably this also stimulated a retrospective cultural turn in the form of an industry-
induced fashion for the music of earlier decades the past becoming less lsquoa land to return to
in a simple politics of memory rsquo than a lsquosynchronic warehouse of cultural scenariosrsquo
(Appadurai 1996 30)
[4] Alternatively known as lsquodigital video discrsquo or lsquodigital versatile discrsquo
Ethnomusicology Forum 51
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2631
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2731
[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2831
[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2631
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2731
[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2831
[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2731
[22] Wilson Ramirez of Banana Records claims to have released the first VCD of originario music
in around 2002 This production entitled Cha rsquo llando sus Exitos de Oro Walter amp Segundina
(lsquoToasting their Golden Hits Walter amp Segundinarsquo) features popular charango huayn o songs
performed by Walter Aguilar and Segundina Aira The picture quality is poor as Ramirez
also stressed to me but the production by this popular duo was an immediate hit Like many
other VCD productions (and pirated editions) of originario music the cover incorrectly presents the disc as a DVD
[23] A 2004 newspaper article notes that pirated merchandise from Colombia entered Bolivia via
Desaguadero and goods from Paraguay via the Chaco region The development of these
international piracy network is dated to the year 2001 (lsquoEn los puestos callajeros solo se
venden piratas de DVDrsquo La Razo n 13 June 2004)
[24] Comparisons between disc piracy and drug traf ficking are widespread See for example the
Motion Picture Associationrsquos study Optical Disc Piracy v Illegal Drug Traf fi cking (October
2005)
[25] The Bolivian currency is the Boliviano In April 2008 UK pound100 was equivalent to
approximately 15 Bolivianos and to US $200
[26] Our Peruvian journey also took in a brief visit to the city of Juliaca a 2-hour journey by local bus from Desaguadero skirting the shores of Lake Titicaca which many Bolivian
vendors had identified as a key centre for pirate production According to Oscar Prieto of
Discolandia everything in Juliaca is bamba (lsquofakersquo or lsquoadulteratedrsquo) lsquoit is the business city
but itrsquos said to be the centre where one is totally swindled utterly ripped off It is fatal rsquo
However we quickly gained the impression that Juliaca was just one of many towns
producing pirated discs even if it had been more important in the past While certain
vendors in Desaguadero mentioned purchasing stock in Juliaca it was Lima that they
characterised as lsquothe mega-centre of piracy rsquo
[27] For example when my bag was stolen on an overnight bus travelling between La Paz and
Sucre several people immediately attributed the theft to Peruvians
[28] The use of stylised diablada dress by Perursquos entrant for Miss Universe 2009 also incited angerfrom Bolivians including insistence that she should be disqualified for plagiarising Bolivian
culture (see also Cordova 2009)
[29] Youtube Diablada Peruana 1000 Peruana Available from wwwyoutubecomwatchv
5raRzefOY9s (last accessed 16 July 2009) A few months later this cliprsquos title was changed to
Diablada 100 peruana como el pisco (lsquoDiablada 100 Peruvian like pisco rsquo [a Peruvian
brandy])
[30] This example also highlights the Internetrsquos potential for inflaming nationalist hostilities its
relative anonymity enables the exchange of offensive language that would probably be
avoided in face-to-face encounters
[31] Other forms of illicit production such as the faking or counterfeiting of global brands of
clothing are widespread in Bolivia But low self-esteem for national manufacturing is againevident in the way that producers attach counterfeit global brand names to products for the
Bolivian and Brazilian markets and lament that consumers would reject their high-quality
products if sold under their own label (Kothari and Laurie 2004 226)
[32] The small clear plastic bags (costing around 0001Bs each) in which each pirated disc is
placed with its printed colour la mina were said to be sourced in the same way
[33] See CIA The World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookindexhtml (last accessed 10 December 2009)
[34] Perursquos relative economic supremacy may now be on the wane given that Bolivia has
weathered the 2008 09 global financial crisis better than Peru or any other Latin American
country With estimated growth in GDP of 61 in 2008 and 40 2009 the Bolivian
economy has in fact survived the global economic downturn better than many any other
parts of the world (Weisbrot Ray and Johnston 2009 7)
Ethnomusicology Forum 53
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2831
[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2831
[35] Economic incentives remain for some vendors to make the journey to Desaguadero as VCD
discs produced in La Paz with good quality colour printed la minas wholesale at around
170Bs compared with as little as 110Bs in Desaguadero Jordan (2008) also gives details of a
vendor family in El Alto (La Paz) who abandoned selling childrenrsquos shoes for the more
lucrative business of marketing pirated music discs Initially the family burnt their own discs
but then as the costs were identical and it saved time and effort they opted for weekly visitsto Desaguaderorsquos Tuesday market Although this contradicts the testimonies of my own
consultants according to Jordan the number of traders travelling to Desaguadero continues
to grow
[36] However in these places it was also typical to market three Peru-derived pirated VCDs in
small plastic bags for 10Bs
[37] Morcom (2008 268 89) highlights some of the problems with self-distribution a theme I
will consider elsewhere as part of a discussion of strategies to combat piracy
[38] This in turn reflects how patterns of consumption underscore class and ethnic hierarchies
[39] For example in lsquoMusic Piracy Ten Inconvenient Truthsrsquo the International Federation of
Phonographic Industries (IFPI) asserts lsquoPiracy is not caused by poverty Professor Zhang of
Nanjing University found the Chinese citizens who bought pirate products were mainly middle or higher income earnersrsquo IFPI Press Of fice London 31 May 2007 Available from
wwwifpiorgcontentsection_news20070531html (last accessed 23 July 2008)
[40] The CIA World Factbook Available from wwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-
factbookgeosblhtml (last accessed 10 August 2009)
[41] Celebrated as an alternative music industry model where copyright becomes irrelevant the
techno brega phenomenon consists of (lsquopiratersquo) street vendors copying and selling thousands
of low-priced CDs to promote massive weekend lsquosound systemrsquo parties at which artists and
sound system owners generate considerable income (Bollier 2006 Hegg 2007) Although in
many respects attractive this model is clearly likely to be more effective and beneficial for
some genres artists and contexts than for others for example it provides no income stream
for composers[42] However Mertha (2005 226) observes that although Chinarsquos local-level bureaucracy was
ineffective at protecting the International Property Rights (IPR) interests of Hollywood and
Microsoft for more immediate and present priorities such as population control or the 1983
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak it could be very ef ficient
[43] See for example Kathryn Ledebur lsquoObamarsquos Bolivia ATPDEA Decision Blast from the Past
or Wave of the Futurersquo Andean Information Network 11 August 2009 Available from
httpain-boliviaorg (last accessed 10 September 2009)
References
Absi Pascale 2005 Los ministros del diablo El trabajo y sus representaciones en las minas de Potos ı La Paz Bolivia Programa de Investigacion Estrategica en Bolivia
Appadurai Arjun 1996 Modernity at large Cultural dimensions of globalization Minneapolis MN
University of Minnesota Press
Badani Ruız Javier 2007 Discos Un paseo por el vinilo y el CD La Razo n La Paz Bolivia 30
December Available from wwwla-razoncom (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Ben-Atar Doron 2004 Trade secrets Intellectual piracy and the origins of American industrial power
New Haven CT Yale University Press
Bigenho Michelle 2002 Sounding indigenous Authenticity in Bolivian music performance New
York Palgrave
Bollier David 2006 The rise of Tecno-Brega or how to build markets on top of social commons
Available from httponthecommonsorgcontentphpid920 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
54 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 2931
Canessa Andrew 2006 Todos somos indigenas Towards a new language of national political
identity Bulletin of Latin American Research 25 (2) 241 63
Cordova Ximena 2009 Contextualising the Diablada of Oruro Paper Presented at the Latin
American Music Seminar Institute for the Study of the AmericasInstitute of Musical
Research University of London 21 November
Davies Rodrigo 2008 CD sales dive Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year ever for CDs BBCRadio 6 Music Available from wwwbbccouk6musicnews20081128_cdsalesshtml (last
accessed 9 July 2009)
Geschiere Peter 2001 Witchcraft and new forms of wealth Regional variations in South and West
Cameroon In Powers of good and evil Social transformation and popular belief edited by Paul
Clough and Jon P Mitchell 43 76 New York Berghahn Books
Gordon Steve 2008 The future of the music business How to succeed with digital technologies
2nd edn New York Hal Leonard Books
Govil Nitin 2004 War in the age of pirate reproduction Sara Reader 378 83 University of
California San Diego Communications Department Available from httpcommunication
ucsdedungovildocssarai04pdf (last accessed 14 October 2008)
Gray Molina George 2008 State-society relations in Bolivia The strength of weakness In
Unresolved tensions Bolivia past and present edited by John Crabtree and Laurence
Whitehead 109 24 Pittsburgh PA University of Pittsburgh Press
Hegg Jens 2007 Techno Brega and the end of copyright as we know it Available from http
jensheggblogspotcom200711techno-brega-and-end-of-copyright-as-wehtml (last accessed
30 July 2009)
Herrera Ricardo 2003 Discolandia seguira apoyando lo nacional El Deber Santa Cruz Bolivia
23 December Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 14 October 2008)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2002 Special 301 report Bolivia Available from http
wwwiipacomrbc20022002SPEC301BOLIVIApdf (last accessed 11 December 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2007 Special 301 report Peru 2 February Available
from wwwiipacomrbc20072007SPEC301PERUpdf (last accessed 13 July 2009)
International Intellectual Property Alliance 2009 Peru Country report 4 March Available from
httpwwwiipacompdfIIPAAndeanAPTAfilingforUSTR final03062009pdf (last accessed
13 July 2009)
Jones Eric 2007 In-between music The creation of Cholo identity in Cochabamba Bolivia Master
of Music Thesis University of North Texas
Jordan Wilfredo 2008 El negocio de CD lsquopiratasrsquo se yergue entre la informalidad y el contrabando
Available from httpwilfredojordanblogspotcom200812el-negocio-de-cd-piratas-se-yergue
html (last accessed 24 July 2009)
Joyce C Alan 2006 US music sales 1975 2005 Vinyl cassettes and CDs Swivel Preview Available
from wwwswivelcomgraphsshow4146447 (last accessed 9 July 2009)
Knopper Steve 2009 Appetite for self-destruction The spectacular crash of the record industry in the
digital age London Simon and Schuster
Kohl Benjamin and Linda Farthing 2006 Impasse in Bolivia London Zed Books
Kothari Uma and Nina Laurie 2004 Same bodies different clothes An agenda for local
consumption and global identities Area 37 (2) 223 7
Kusek David and Gerd Leonhard 2005 The future of music Manifesto for the digital music
revolution Boston MA Berklee Press
Langlois Tony 2009 Pirates of the Mediterranean Moroccan music video and technology Music
Sound and the Moving Image 3 (1) 71 85
Lebrecht Norman 2008 [2007] Maestros masterpieces and madness The secret life and shameful
death of the classical record industry London Penguin Books
Ethnomusicology Forum 55
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3031
Lemos Ronaldo 2009 Everything is under control The emerging globalperipheral music scenes
and how they reinvent the music business Paper presented at the conference Digital
Economies and the Politics of Circulation Columbia University New York 4 April
Lessig Lawrence 2004 Free culture How big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture
and control creativity New York The Penguin Press
Leyshon Andrew 2001 Time space (and digital) compression Software formats musicalnetworks and the reorganisation of the music industry Environment and Planning 33 49 77
Manuel Peter 1993 Cassette culture Popular music and technology in North India Chicago
University of Chicago Press
Mertha Andrew 2005 The politics of piracy Intellectual property in contemporary China Ithaca NY
Cornell University Press
Moffat Rudi 2008 Resistance is futile The Journal of World Intellectual Property 12 (1) 75 87
Morcom Anna 2008 Getting heard in Tibet Music media and markets Consumption markets and
culture 11 (4) 259 85
Ochoa Gauthier Ana Maria and George Yudice 2002 The Latin American music industry in an
era of crisis Paper prepared for The Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity Division of Arts
and Cultural Enterprise UNESCO ParisRojas Alcocer Laureano and unnamed authors1994 35 an os de folklore marcando la soberania
patria Historia de 29 festivales Lauro Records Cochabamba Bolivia Impreso en Talleres
Grafico Lauro amp Cia
Sanchez Walter 1996 Nacionalismo y folklore Indios Criollos y Cholo-Mestizos Taquipacha
Revista Boliviana de Investigacio n en Cultura y Mu sica 4 53 64
Sandall Robert 2007 The day the music industry died The Sunday Times 7 October Times
Online Available from httpentertainmenttimesonlinecouktolarts_and_entertainment
musicarticle2602597ece (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Stobart Henry 2006 Music and the poetics of production in the Bolivian Andes Aldershot Ashgate
Story Alan Colin Darch and Deborah Halbert 2006 The CopySouth dossier Issues in the
economics politics and ideology of copyright in the global south The CopySouth ResearchGroup University of Kent UK
Suarez Marcelo 2009 Discolandia asume nuevos retos al cumplir 50 anos El Deber Santa
Cruz Bolivia 18 January Available from wwweldebercombo (last accessed 10 June 2008)
Taussig Michael 1980 The devil and commodity fetishism in South America Chapel Hill University
of North Carolina Press
Wang Shujen 2003 Framing piracy Globalization and fi lm distribution in greater China Lanham
MD Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
Weisbrot Mark Rebecca Ray and Jake Johnston 2009 Bolivia The economy during the Morales
administration Washington DC Center for Economic and Policy Research Available from
wwwceprnet (last accessed 11 October 2009)
56 H Stobart
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use
8122019 Shifting Rampant Reproduction and Digital Democracy Shifting Landscapes of Music Production and lsquoPiracyrsquo in Bolhellip
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullshifting-rampant-reproduction-and-digital-democracy-shifting-landscapes-of 3131
Copyright of Ethnomusicology Forum is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or
emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission
However users may print download or email articles for individual use