A London-based DJ is thought to be the first person prosecuted in the UK for selling promotional CDs.
According to a Digital Media Wire report:
A London-based DJ and music critic has been arrested on suspicion of theft and money laundering in connection with his alleged selling of 150 pre-release albums on eBay, according to a statement from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a record label trade group.
The case involves the alleged sale of promotional or review copies of albums from artists including Kelly Rowland, Foals and Grand National before their official release dates.
“People who have access to pre-release music by virtue of their job, and who sell or distribute it illegally, should note that record companies, large and small, are taking a zero tolerance approach to such activity. We will notify the police of their actions and we expect the police will take such a crime very seriously,” said John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of IFPI.
I know that the music industry has its share of troubles – but don’t you think that the police have more important things to do with their time than busting DJ’s for selling promo CDs?
If the music industry wants to punish this guy, they should just stop sending him the f****** CDs!
If they keep arresting DJs, though, DJs are going to look elsewhere for new music to play.
via techdirt
Image: bookgrl
There was a case like this very recently in the US. The record industry lost the case due to the First Sale Doctrine, which says that you can’t legally dictate what someone does with something (including an album) after you sell or give it to them. In this case they found that mailing out unsolicited promos constituted a gift legally.
Not sure what the law is in the UK though. The record industry in general needs to get a grip. They’ve had 9 years to get their act together since Napster burst their bubble and haven’t managed to put something together that even rivals Allofmp3.com.
This is screwed up.
What if DJs got together and banned tracks from mainstream labels?
Yes stop taking and reporting on there lousy artist tracks.
Soon when e make Mix cds for promo use. they will try and sue us for that as well