Karl Miller wrote:

>I only question the reviewers who thought a recording was so so when
>first released, and the thought it was "great" when they thought it was
>Hatto playing.  To me, it suggests that they are as subject to the snake
>oil salesmen as the rest of us.  In this case, the product was good, but
>somehow it became "better" with a different label on it, even if the
>original label wasn't a generic.

Can you give specific examples?  I know it's not you, but it is
dishonest to accuse people of "bad reviewing" and lack of integrity when
the "evidence" is only that someone thinks he saw someone write that
Hatto was "consistent", without even quoting the context the word was
used in.  The only case I know of where someone changed his mind happened
over the space of 14 years in which most people can legitimately change
their minds.  And it wasn't a case of generic labels.  What is the
motivation behind this kind of innuendo?  Since I didn't write any of
those reviews, I have no axe to grind whatsoever.  I'm only interested
in being fair.

>Not to disagree with you, but we have had claqueurs in the music "biz"
>for a long time.  The only difference now is that they have become more
>sophisticated.

But that is exactly the point I am trying to make, that frauds, trolls
and the just plain deluded infest the internet.  That's all the more
reason that we shouldn't be distracted by diverting attention from the
scammers to the scammers.  Why?  It's unethical to blame those who were
hurt instead of the perpretrators, in any branch of life.

>A friend of mine traded with him for years and through my friend I
>provided Lumpe with records over 20 years ago.  His first article on the
>subject appeared in 1990.  When did the Hatto hoax begin?  I have many
>tapes which came from Lumpe's collection.  While I don't know if he did
>or did not know what was going on, I can at least state that I do know
>he was (is) indeed a collector.

The group of people behind Concert Artists, Saga and many others,
was uyp to things from as early as the 1960's.  And of course they
are collectors - how else do they get the material to scam?  Of course
they trade.  It gives them credibility and they worm their way into
credibility.  It is also how Hatto/WBC operated.  The reason these scams
were so effective was "because" they mixed reality in with unreality,
good products with the false.  Collectors aren't necessarily people to
respect per se.  Many of those in the extended WBC/Hatto circles were
most certainly collectors.  If Lumpe was legit, that's all the more
reason why he should not have been so deeply involved in the scam and
given it such support.  Chances are, you've been conned too, Karl.  Join
the club with the maligned reviewers.  It's no disgrace.

Karl responds to me:

>>No matter how much one might downplay the role of fake personalities
>>on the net, their existence must be acknowledged.  Honest people have
>>nothing to fear, in fact, it's they who probably need to be reminded!
>>So, focus instead on how the scam began......
>
>I agree that should be a focus, but for me, the question is, what does
>it teach us about the music biz, human nature and marketing?

Plenty, and the same same factors that created Hattogate are alive
wand well.  The very fact that we've been sidelined into a discussion
of reviewing instead of focussing on the frauds of cyberspace is pretty
significant.  Most people who know about the scam aren't interested in
the "role" of "bad reviewing" for the very simple reason that it isn't
an issue.  Instead, suddenly everyone is drawn into the discussion.
We're being distracted from confronting the basic problem, which is that
the net is wide open to fantasists.  It's not big business for a change
but some guy in a small back room in some nameless suburb playing at
being Napolean.  It's no crime, it's human nature.  Second Life could
serve a good purpose channelling such energies.  We can't change human
weakness, but can protect ourselves by being analytical, and not jumping
on bandwagons.

Anne
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