Curator decries Elvis tape cutting

NEW YORK (Elvis Fans Website) - Plans to cut up and sell pieces of an original tape of Elvis Presley's Sun Studio recordings are "shameful," a curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame said Tuesday.

The curator joined a chorus of Elvis fans complaining as the tape's owner held a New York press conference Tuesday, cutting a 2-inch segment from the tape reel as a gift to Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Howard Kramer, curatorial director for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, said the museum does not pay for exhibits, so it was not asked to buy the tape which includes 10 songs recorded by Elvis in 1954 and 1955. "By the time they called us about this it was a done deal," said Kramer.

He was contacted in late December by a spokesman for Michael Esposito, head of a Bloomfield, N.J., company, Master Tape Collection, he said. "The only thing that was offered to us was a framed piece of tape. We said, 'No, thank you.' " Kramer said he considers Esposito's plans to cut up and sell the tape in 2-inch segments "nothing to be proud of. It's shameful."

Graceland and EPE spokesman Todd Morgan said the Elvis estate "never discussed" a purchase with Esposito. He said Esposito's plans were "way beyond our Elvis artifact acquisition budget."
The estate does not own the rights to Elvis's music, but it licensed the Elvis name and Elvis photographs to be used by Esposito in his effort to sell segments of the tape through the Web site www.elvismastertape.com.

Segments, which would cost $495 each, are being reserved but Esposito said Monday that if he receives a substantial offer for the entire tape he will reconsider the plan.

Esposito, who also has no rights to the music on the tapes, could not sell or profit from the music itself, so he chose to cut up the tape and sell it in what could be thousands of segments.