They've been floating around eBay for years now, and show no signs of stopping. Every major band seems to get bootlegged at some point, but for some reason, Linkin Park gets it worse than almost any other band I've seen. As I sit here looking at a fake Linkin Park CD with 7 bids and a top bidder offering over $30 for a bootlegged CD, I felt the need to do something about it and clear this up once and for all.

First of all, LPU (Linkin Park Underground) albums. Every year, the LPU releases a CD exclusive to its members. Naturally, these pop up on eBay from time to time when members no longer want them, but far more common are the fake ones. First and foremost: There are 6 LPU CDs (as of July of 2007), and NONE of them contain more than 6 tracks. If you see a CD claiming to be an LPU album and it has more than 6 tracks, it is a fake, PERIOD. The LPU does not release "International Versions" of the album with more tracks, there are no "bonus tracks" on any of them. Every LPU member around the world gets the same CD, end of story. There's a fake "LPU 2.5" CD (no CD with that title even exists, each LPU year, the number goes up by one) with about 16 tracks, a fake LPU 3.0 (the one with the black cover and red text) with about 20, and a fake LPU 4.0 (this one uses the real album cover but is still a fake and has way more tracks than it should) with around 25. Also recently making the bootleg rounds is an LPU 6-looking 2 CD set. It has a black and green cover and the tracklisting on the back lists the discs as "Disc A" and "Disc B." Avoid that one as well.

*Update on the LPU situation* The 7th edition of the LPU is launching on December 5th, 2007. This year, the CD contains 10 tracks, all of which were recorded live at Projekt Revolution 2007. This breaks the tradition of all LPU CDs containing 6 or fewer tracks, so don't let that throw you off into thinking it's a fake.

Regarding the Hybrid Theory EP: This item is one you have to be extra careful about, because it routinely sells for over $100. Unfortunately, the bootleggers made a really good fake of this one. The only way you can really tell if a HTEP is fake is by typos in various places, mostly in the liner notes of the booklet, but the easiest one to spot is the misspelling of "Joseph Hahn" on the back cover; fake versions say "Josepph Hahn." Other than that, the colors on the artwork of fake versions are kind of washed-out, but a legitimate used CD can also look like that, so it's not a very good way to identify one of these fakes.

Secondly, all these "compilation" albums. Rather than explain each one in detail, I'll just list off as many as I can think of. Splitting the DNA, Erection, The Document (an upcoming bootleg release), Conspiracy Theory (an unauthorized DVD), Under Attack, Project Revolution: Remixes, Linkin Park Piano Versions, Kabouki Theatre, Linkin Park: Rare and Unreleased, the 4-CD set "Hybrid Theory EP" with 76 tracks (some bootlegger obviously has no clue what an EP is!), and any type of  "Greatest Hits" compilation. ALL of these are fake, bootlegged, unofficial, fan-made, not supported by the band, whatever you want to call them. Bottom line, don't buy them, they're some lowlife's attempt at making money off of ignorant, unsuspecting fans. Some of the songs on these CDs aren't even Linkin Park songs, that's how horribly misinformed some of these bootleggers are.

Thirdly, a little common sense. A lot of these bootleg albums are listed as "Ukraine-only releases," or something similar to that. Now seriously...have you EVER heard of a major label band only releasing an album in Ukraine or some other obscure country like that? I haven't.

There are, however, a few bootlegs that are a bit harder to identify. One is the Hybrid Theory Special Edition...there's a completely legitimate 2-disc version of this, and it's fairly easy to find. However, there is also a fake version, sometimes it's on one CD, sometimes on two. The easiest way to spot this is the silver Chinese characters on the front cover (I think they're Chinese, but they certainly look Oriental). Fortunately, most bootlegs are easier to spot than this.

Overall, well, I've pretty much listed it all in here. Obviously there are more bootlegs out there and they probably won't stop making them anytime soon, but hopefully people become more and more aware of them over time and stop buying them. Also, if you find a CD that you suspect of being a fake but you aren't certain, don't hesitate to send me a message (as one smart eBay'er already did), as I may be able to help.