Warez Links that nearly killed my album and EP release! Here’s the development.
Somebody out there is hacking into music sites, downloading complete releases and then systematically uploading the music to several free file hosts.
And then, finally, re-publishing the music on every conceivable warez music site and special interest forums linking to the files with albums, tracks and what not as free downloads. Is this an artists nightmare or is it an opportunity for (underground) fame?
Do you recognize the pattern? I’m sure you came across this problem if you like me, are producing and recording music that you publish on the web. It can be quite damaging for self esteem and moral. Especially after spending months and sometimes years to achieve the supposedly exciting grand moment for publishing only to realize that within days one is totally ripped of the possibility to remain the exclusive publisher of ones own music.
And for the record Part of the publicity used by Qubenzis Psy Audio is to give away loads of music for free. As a matter of fact we really do believe in that music should be more or less free, at least initially. Then people can take the decision if they want to sponsor their favorite artists by investing in anything from CDs and exclusive high quality downloads down to concert tickets and T-shirts.
However, malicious ripping of complete music products prevents the artist from taking advantage of being generous. And what I’m referring to here is highly organized (crime) since my to albums where found on the free file sharing hosts mentioned below with over 100 download links, and this within a short time span of a few days. That really sucks. Especially when knowing that many of the file sharing hosts collect emails and even admission fees from the artists fans. That is a wrongness by definition. And I’m sure the Megauploads.com scandal has to do with this sort of organization (admittedly I don’t follow that case).
A regular user or music enthusiast would hardly be able to pull off such a stunt. Especially the ripping part which demand some computer knowledge of how to crack open legitimate music hosts. Following the money trail the only party who has something to gain is the million member file hosts and illegitimate music distributors (I haven’t named any of them in this article).
I suspect that one of the legitimate music sites that have been hacked into quite frequently is http://bandcamp.com. I can’t be 100% sure about this but I have strong evidence since the files ripped where at the time uploaded only to their server besides my own (where I have fairly good control). Bandcamp is a music download and presentation website where many artists are encouraged to upload music in high resolution audio quality. Especially electronic music in a multitude of genres
However I found that most free file hosts have an abuse policy that can be used simply by sourcing the links and then send them the list for take down. Together with the links one should clearly state ones copyright claim as well as links to the original artwork.
Here below I posted names of the hosts I’ve been dealing with. I want to thank the webmasters on the “nice” servers (see below) for being notably cooperative and hassle free.
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“Nice” File Sharing hosts that took down links to my music without fuzz
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- http://tinydl.com
- http://uploaded.to
- http://www.megaupload.net (offline due to legal problems)
- http://depositfiles.com
- http://fileserve.com
- http://rapidshare.com
- http://filejungle.com
- http://wupload.es
- http://wupload.com
- http://filestube.com
- http://turbobit.net
- http://filesearchengine.net
- http://letitbit.net
- http://trancemusic.lv
- http://ifolder.ru
- http://filesonic.es
- http://filesonic.com
- http://filepost.com
- http://bitshare.com
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“Evil” File Sharing hosts or music distributors
(though many more exist on the web…)
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These guys refuse to answer my take down notice
(ignoring any attempt to communication… so far)
http://www.freakenergy.ru – Big site that specialize in electronic dance music. Here they don’t even have an email form or abuse contact information. Irritating is that they announce one album and EP of mine without any reference to the artist website and as well falsely write “no label” where the label info should be. Luckily the download links they offer lead to above mentioned hosts and are for the most part non functioning. Cool 
http://www.idownloadbox.com – Doesn’t answer or act upon several requests for take down of unwanted links. Perhaps they simply are slow (due to thousands of similar requests) or they decided to keep the files going.
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Bono once said….
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“A decade’s worth of music file sharing and swiping has made clear the people it hurts are the creators…and the people this reverse Robin-Hooding benefits are rich service providers, whose swollen profits perfectly mirror the lost receipts of the music business.” said Bono in the “Opinion” columnNew York Times, January 2010
Final word on legislation
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I hear that Washington and other governments want harder legislation on copyright infringements (remember the SOPA and PIPA bill). Personally I don’t think that is needed. The Megaupload story confirm that existing legislation is more than sufficient. All it takes is to use the tools and people ready available in order to state ones legal claims.
As usual the Governments (the FED), not only in the US, are free-riding on any society problems (regardless off what it’s about be) trying to wedge themselves in as some kind of noble helper. Nothing is further from the truth, as history proved again and again, since all they want is more control so they in their turn can “legally” violate our basic rights and freedoms. My tip is to carefully watch out for any and all Government “helpers” and keep ‘em beyond smelling distance with a long stick
Other articles I found about Music Piracy
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By: Paul McGuinness (who manages U2) very interesting article…
Pauk McGuinnes On Music Piracy (www.atu2.com)
by Anthony from website E-Marketing for Sensible Folk
Online Music Piracy and the Efficiency of Internet Distribution
Music Piracy Sucks from the “Now I’m Fluttering” Blog
Related articles
- Opinion: Has Megaupload ruined file hosting for everyone else? (techradar.com)
- MediaFire CEO: Unlike Megaupload, our business model isn’t built on piracy (venturebeat.com)
- MegaFallout: Shutdown of MegaUpload Spooks Other Services (readwriteweb.com)
- Megaupload Back Online With New Website? (techie-buzz.com)
- 15 file-sharing sites like Megaupload that the Feds may target next (venturebeat.com)
- FileSonic stops file sharing after Megaupload case (ibnlive.in.com)
- Common Errors about Music Piracy (onlyagame.typepad.com)
- FileSonic Shuts Down All File Sharing (truthsupport.wordpress.com)
- Upload To Multiple File Hosts The Easy Way With The Open-Source Project, Neembuu Uploader [Cross-Platform] (makeuseof.com)
- FileSonic File-Sharing Service Next Domino to Fall After Megaupload Bust (techland.time.com)
- More File Sharing Websites Call It a Day in Response to Megaupload Raid (techie-buzz.com)
- Megaupload’s DMCA Shell Games (plagiarismtoday.com)
January 20th, 2012 by: admin Posted in Blogs & Articles
