Some very enterprising DVD vendors are taking advantage of Tessanne Chin's victory on the just-concluded The Voice by selling bootleg DVDs called 'Tessanne Chin Live' at $100 per copy.

Last Tuesday, Jamaican songbird Tessanne Chin finished on top of the United States-based The Voice competition aired on NBC. Chin finished ahead of 16-year-old Jacqui Lee and Will Champlin earning the right to be called The Voice.

festive season

True to form, Jamaica's enterprising vendors have now found a way to earn some money off Chin's success by selling DVDs of her live performances. And the vendors say it is a very hot item for the festive season.

"She is The Voice. But a we seh hustling, so it is a good feeling and people a support di ting," a vendor said in Spanish Town.

The vendors told The Star with a lukewarm economy, their businesses are booming with The Voice winner's performance on disc in their stock.

"Come get your copy for Christmas. It is Tessanne Chin Live. Come get it as dem going fast," another vendor at the Spanish Town Shopping Centre said.

The Star saw a number of persons purchasing copies of the bootleg DVDs. The vendors say since they started selling the bootleg copy last Wednesday, they have sold as many as 50 copies in a day in most cases. This means that by selling 50 copies at $5,000 per day, a vendor could be raking in up to $35,000 in a week from the DVDs.

own benefit

While some persons believe the vendors were exploiting Chin's success for their own benefit, others were glad for the availability of the DVD.

"Mi really glad that I can store Jamaica's first winner of The Voice," Michelle said while buying the DVD.

When contacted last night, the Spanish Town police said they were aware of the sale of the illegal DVDs.

Detective Sergeant Leonard Stewart of the Spanish Town Police Station said the vendors if caught, could be charged with breaches of the Copyright Act.

"It is an illegal act. Persons found selling bootleg DVDs or CDs can be charged with breaches of the Copyright Act. They can be brought before a Resident Magistrate's Court and fined up to $500,000 for their actions," he said.