In its ongoing war against music pirate websites, the RIAA has scored a string of victories.
Over the past several weeks, the RIAA has managed to take down numerous piracy websites.
First, in mid-March, the major music industry organization shut down YouTubNow. The YouTube stream-ripper had boasted about its “powerful service.” Following a subpoena request at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, YouTubNow went the way of the dodo.
Then, teaming up with the IFPI and Music Canada, the RIAA took down large-scale cyberlocker, DBRee.
The IFPI explained,
“DBR was responsible for large scale copyright infringement of music content.
“On behalf of our member record companies, IFPI, RIAA, and Music Canada identified and contacted the site operator who has now agreed to shut down the site completely and not to infringe sound recording rights in the future.”
Now, as the RIAA continues to wage war against Y2Mate and FLVTO, the organization has scored two more victories.
Adios, Mixstep and NoFile.
Following another subpoena request at the federal court in D.C., Mixstep has officially closed its doors.
Mixstep allowed DJs and music producers to upload and share their works to a broad audience. The website admittedly had a difficult time banning users who frequently posted copyrighted works on its platform.
Once again targeting Cloudflare and NameCheap, an accredited domain registrar, the RIAA requested the personal information of Mixstep’s owner. In the DMCA warning letter sent to Cloudflare, the music organization identified a single infringing track on the website – Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s single, ‘I Don’t Care.’
Speaking with TF about the platform’s closure, Mixstep’s anonymous owner explained the site’s purpose.
“We made this project for DJs and producers. We already banned a lot of users who uploaded illegal files.”
Lamenting the DMCA letter, the owner added the site hadn’t earned any money from advertising, unlike other pirate hubs.
“I think it’s enough to fight with all these [users uploading infringing files] so we’re going to shut down our project very soon. Anyway, Mixstep was a no-profit project.”
In addition, giving in to pressure from the RIAA, NameCheap has suspended the domain of cyberlocker NoFile.
Just as in the DMCA letter to the registrar about Mixstep, the music organization warned,
“The website associated with this domain name offers files containing sound recordings which are owned by one or more of our member companies and have not been authorized for this kind of use.”
Whether NoFile will file an appeal against NameCheap remains to be seen.
Featured image by Roger Gregory (CC by 2.0).
Here’s the interesting thing… pay attention Paul. The RIAA needs the cooperation of Canada ?? to bring down piracy sites.
The music industry is using Canada to generate new ISWC and new ISRC codes through altering song titles slightly. This enables the Publishers and Record companies the ability to move millions upon millions of dollars through SUISA and MINT. According to Billboard magazine, $1.1 Billion in Orphaned Royalties. With all the a.i. developed by Jeff Price for SOCAN – acquisition to the time of $16 million, the industry is getting caught by its own policies and business practices of Song registry. Let’s get the facts straight.. America is saying “ it can’t handle the job of Royalty disbursements, so it has to call on Eric Baptiste and Jeff Price to come down and sift through the musical closets …”? Perhaps at that juncture, Eric Baptiste will make the decision to make yet another major acquisition in the USA in purchasing additional property, or spend our independent music publishing Royalties on bailing out its COO Jeff King in a cover up of using our Royalties for illicit behaviours in France…? Maybe you should check up on these facts and expose how CIPO – CRB – CMRRA – SOCAN – are involved in moving digital cash around the world and cashing it out in Geneva and USA… time to let the hammer fall… we’ve had enough of the cover up … let the horns blast and sound out truth across the Nations.. CISAC is teaching countries how to comply .. which signs over creators value to publishers making back room deals with Bell – Rogers – Cogeco – Robert Ott – Red Dot ?. When he gets caught, leaves the CMRRA and sells principle interests of Ole yo the Ontario Teachers Pension of Canada, followed by Helen Murphy distancing herself and the interests by totally rebranding Ole as Anthem Entertainment… Convoluted – theft and Profiteering are not Civil Matters, they are Criminal… bottom line.
Mixstep didn’t shut down, they migrated to a new server and rebranded under a new name called http://www.beatexs.com