It was rather common all over the world.

E.g., examples of Soviet songs which were actually stolen from western:

(Ok, this one went back and forth)

https://youtu.be/GpX0vX6Zwko
https://youtu.be/VvCJK-njWM4
https://youtu.be/DCMiLvQwdEA

https://youtu.be/Qu_MenSGUx0

Examples of western ones which were stolen off Russian:

https://youtu.be/Y1SIexPh3ic

https://youtu.be/nze8B39OB0k

... Can go forever

That is quite interesting! I think we mostly did it due to sudden introduction to western influences, but it is nice to learn about how other countries react to media to other countries as well!

I think until rather recently, and by that, I mean maybe late 1990s at the earliest, it was not mauvais ton. Then the digital millenium (and the DMCA) happened, making the world much smaller.

Hmm. I see. I do think that it is a bit interesting that songs seemed to be ripped back and forth between Western/Europe and Russia. Perhaps due to the geographic distance and most people not likely to have known regarding the origins of the songs?

I agree that Russian songs are bangers, though! (*ﾉωﾉ)

I don't think it was the matter of distance as much as much less worldwide integration.

Granted, I *ALWAYS* overestimate people's cosmopolitic tendencies like foreign languages knowledge (even now), but back then, borders, separate economies, lack of long-distance communication (no internet, voice calls were prohibitively expensive, and people actually used snail mail letters :) and language barriers were way more noticeable.

Was it also that some media would be better received if it was extremely localized?

I think I remember, we use to have a TV show series, and it was mostly about a man fell in love with a women, but then the man's mother kills the woman and the police investigates the scene.

Of course, it was ripped directly from "psycho". But it was all localized for Hong Kong audiences.

I guess for modern times, it would make for sense to have just translated the original movie and put subtitles, as we are more aware of cultures different from ours, but perhaps it is less fathomable/wide spread during the recent past(?)

Actually, these days, even more of these shows (especially series) are "localized". It's mostly done via a franchise contract, and they are often completely redone to the point you won't even figure it out if it was not advertized. The main reason is that while people can understand foreign stuff, it only goes well for single movies, but does not sustain viewership necessary for tv series.

I do understand that, especially for some games and anime shows, perhaps for dubs they will use more localized terms for the local audiences (eating burgers, jelly filled dounuts, etc) . Although in my own memory, the show itself was completely re-enacted with local actors and aside from the most iconic scenes, most of the set-up had be changed... Perhaps it is a contract, but I am a bit unsure...

Regardless, thank you for sharing this history with me! I became really interested in Countryballs due to many interesting and miscellaneous things I can learn from the comics! So thank you for sharing some of the history of copying media and your thoughts on why it is done! ♡´･ᴗ･`♡