Underground / Stardust have been reissuing major label pop and rock artists such as Elvis, Manfred Mann, Jimmy Gilmer as well as soul & RnB since the mid 70's. Until the end of the 80's vinyl was still the primary music media and , for major labels , their greatest source of revenue. Wouldn't you think the major record companies' lawyers would have come down like a ton of bricks on any outfit that was openly and illegally issuing and selling their product ?
Yes, Discogs states: "Canadian reissue label known for quasi-legitimate reissue 45s (mastered from existing vinyl records; it occasionally issued singles with odd artist and/or song pairings) and compilation CDs of questionable mastering quality. "
So, Underground / Stardust do simple one off licensing deals with big and small labels ? So what ? Many other legit outfits do that.
They also find that production costs are reduced by simply dubbing off existing discs rather than going to the trouble of gaining access to master tapes. Not exactly a crime is it ?
Odd artist/song pairings? Again, makes commercial sense to appeal to two markets instead of one on the same single release. That's smart business.
And if the legal authorities want to pursue them, guess what? Their address is clearly shown on the label. They're easy to find. They obviously think they have nothing to hide.
And they've been operating since the mid 70's with no apparent legal issues. They must be doing something right, mustn't they?
And as for finally concluding that they therefore must be legit ? Well, in democratic countries at least , it's called the "presumption of innocence".
But then again , the strange world of northern soul is a law unto itself isn't it?