Major labels go after largest stream-ripping site

The global recorded music industry is taking the battle to stream-ripping sites, the new and more potent face of music piracy.

Such sites were responsible for 18% of all music piracy last year, according to MUSO. The recorded music industry has been concerned since a recent PSOS study suggested that 49% of all 16—24-year-olds engage in such activity.

“Tens or hundreds of millions” of tracks are being pirated, the lawsuit claimed, Its cited research that the activity doubled between 2013 and 2015 in the US.

This week Universal Music, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Youtube-mp3.org. They describe it as “the world’s largest site to offer illegally ‘stream ripped’ music.”

The lawsuit was filed in California through a joint effort by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Named is its owner, German-based PMD TECHNOLOGIE UG, and its operator Philip Matesanz. It claims that Youtube-mp3.org, which has 60 million monthly users, is responsible for over 40% of all unlawful stream ripping of music from YouTube. It is a free service and claims it can rip the tracks under four minutes.

According to the lawsuit: “YTMP3 was designed and exists for one principal reason: to profit from the unauthorized reproduction and distribution of the popular copyrighted recorded music that appears on YouTube, a substantial portion of which is owned or controlled by Plaintiffs.”

It added: “Stream ripping replaces lawful, revenue-generating streaming and downloads of recordings over the internet and sales of phonorecords in tangible media with the mass distribution of unauthorized copies, depriving copyright owners of compensation and enriching unlawful actors at copyright owners’ and artists’ expense. The scale of stream ripping, and the corresponding impact on music industry revenues, is enormous.”

The lawsuit also came from a number of statements from various associations representing record labels.

IFPI Chief Executive Frances Moore said:

“This is a coordinated action to protect the rights of artists and labels from the blatant infringements of YouTube-mp3, the world’s single-largest ‘stream ripping’ site.

“Music companies and digital services today offer fans more options than ever before to listen to music legally, when and where they want to do so – over hundreds of services with scores of millions of tracks – all while compensating artists and labels. Stream ripping sites should not be allowed jeopardise this.”

Cary Sherman, the Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said:

“We are doing our part, but everyone in the music ecosystem who says they believe that artists should be compensated for their work has a role to play. It should not be so easy to engage in this activity in the first place, and no stream ripping site should appear at the top of any search result or app chart.”

Geoff Taylor, CEO of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said:

“We hope that responsible advertisers, search engines and hosting providers will also reflect on the ethics of supporting sites that enrich themselves by defrauding creators.”

Alison Wenham, CEO of WIN (Worldwide Independent Network) & AIM (Association for Independent Music) said:

“Stream ripping is not a victimless crime, it involves ripping off the artists and companies who invest their time and money into making music for the public to enjoy. The more stream ripping takes place, the less investment into music will be made to the ultimate detriment of music fans.”

Richard Burgess, CEO of A2IM, representing US independent record labels said:

“Stream ripping is yet another illegal activity that deprives artists, songwriters, publishers, and labels of their rightful revenues and their ability to make a living. It must be stopped immediately.”