Willets, the Pirate King
Jan. 17th, 2012 06:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xenithMy last tweet was just the opening sentence from this news story. I thought I might offer up the whole thing. So, from the Tasmanian Mail, 31 March 1906:
A remarkable career was that of James F. Willets, "the Pirate King," recently set to gaol in London for conspiring to publish copyright music. Willets was originally a fish-hawker, without a penny, but, by assiduous theft of copyright music, and splendid organisation to prevent detection, he amassed a fortune of £50,000, and owned a London town house and another magnificent mansion at Westcliff-on-Sea. Seeing the demand for cheap music, Willets started in a small way, gradually expanded his business, and, at the time of his arrest, controlled a vast organisation in a manner which reminds Melbourne people of the methods of certain local tote proprietors.
The street hawkers, who sold the music for twopence a copy, were supplied for cash by persons with whom they communicated over the telephone, and knew only by a nickname. The printers were supplied with paper at irregular intervals from people whom they did not know, and when their work was done, they handed over the pirated copies to strange drivers, who gave a countersign. The engravers were obliged to leave their blocks at cloak-rooms to be called for, and generally Willets pursued the p0licy of every great business man of allowing nobody but himself to know more than one department of it.
Notwithstanding all this secrecy, he had depots in every part of London, and when his business was broken up no fewer than two million copies of music were seized. He boasted that he sold 15 million copies of "The Holy City" at twopence each, while the holders of the copyright were charging two shillings.
A remarkable career was that of James F. Willets, "the Pirate King," recently set to gaol in London for conspiring to publish copyright music. Willets was originally a fish-hawker, without a penny, but, by assiduous theft of copyright music, and splendid organisation to prevent detection, he amassed a fortune of £50,000, and owned a London town house and another magnificent mansion at Westcliff-on-Sea. Seeing the demand for cheap music, Willets started in a small way, gradually expanded his business, and, at the time of his arrest, controlled a vast organisation in a manner which reminds Melbourne people of the methods of certain local tote proprietors.
The street hawkers, who sold the music for twopence a copy, were supplied for cash by persons with whom they communicated over the telephone, and knew only by a nickname. The printers were supplied with paper at irregular intervals from people whom they did not know, and when their work was done, they handed over the pirated copies to strange drivers, who gave a countersign. The engravers were obliged to leave their blocks at cloak-rooms to be called for, and generally Willets pursued the p0licy of every great business man of allowing nobody but himself to know more than one department of it.
Notwithstanding all this secrecy, he had depots in every part of London, and when his business was broken up no fewer than two million copies of music were seized. He boasted that he sold 15 million copies of "The Holy City" at twopence each, while the holders of the copyright were charging two shillings.
