This study presents detailed life stories of music pirates who practiced transformative music piracy in the 1990s. These pirates made unauthorised use of old soul, jazz and funk recordings to produce unlicensed compilations of music on vinyl records. Hundreds of such compilations were produced and this thesis asks who the pirates were, why they released them, and how they managed to get them manufactured. The transgressive production practices of four music pirates are focused on in particular, although further interviews with others were carried out. The thesis examines how they acquired rare and often obscure recordings to create their compilations. Relationships between them and personnel who worked in various sectors of the music industries are analysed. Connections between transformative pirates, the music industries and UK club cultures of hip hop, rare groove, acid jazz and deep funk situates this work within the intersections between various forms of authorised and unauthorised cultural production. To understand precedents for transformative piracy in the 20th century, literature on the music industries, copyright, music compilation, music piracy and club cultures have been surveyed. The social, cultural and musical lives of four transformative pirates are revealed through oral history methods for the purpose of analysing and interpreting aesthetic differences between the unlicensed compilations of soul, jazz and funk recordings they produced. Offering thick description of their practices, these key informants talked about why they created them, who they worked with, how they made them, and what they think about the vinyl records they produced. This research reveals how social relationships between record collectors, record dealers, record shop owners and music distributors were central to this world of unauthorised production. Art world theory and sociology of music perspectives inform analysis and interpretation designed to formulate understanding of the cultural and social mechanisms that lay behind this particular type of transformative piracy. Contributions to knowledge are made to the academic fields of music piracy, club cultures and the sociology of music. This study presents detailed life stories of music pirates who practiced transformative music piracy in the 1990s. These pirates made unauthorised use of old soul, jazz and funk recordings to produce unlicensed compilations of music on vinyl records. Hundreds of such compilations were produced and this thesis asks who the pirates were, why they released them, and how they managed to get them manufactured. The transgressive production practices of four music pirates are focused on in particular, although further interviews with others were carried out. The thesis examines how they acquired rare and often obscure recordings to create their compilations. Relationships between them and personnel who worked in various sectors of the music industries are analysed. Connections between transformative pirates, the music industries and UK club cultures of hip hop, rare groove, acid jazz and deep funk situates this work within the intersections between various forms of authorised and unauthorised cultural production. To understand precedents for transformative piracy in the 20th century, literature on the music industries, copyright, music compilation, music piracy and club cultures have been surveyed. The social, cultural and musical lives of four transformative pirates are revealed through oral history methods for the purpose of analysing and interpreting aesthetic differences between the unlicensed compilations of soul, jazz and funk recordings they produced. Offering thick description of their practices, these key informants talked about why they created them, who they worked with, how they made them, and what they think about the vinyl records they produced. This research reveals how social relationships between record collectors, record dealers, record shop owners and music distributors were central to this world of unauthorised production. Art world theory and sociology of music perspectives inform analysis and interpretation designed to formulate understanding of the cultural and social mechanisms that lay behind this particular type of transformative piracy. Contributions to knowledge are made to the academic fields of music piracy, club cultures and the sociology of music.