Mp3skull

mp3skull
Web address http://mp3skull.vg/
Users Over 1M per day as of March 2015
Launched 2010
Current status Offline

Mp3skull is a website that provides direct download links to MP3 files located on third-party sites. Founded in 2010, the site has been the subject of controversy for helping users find unauthorized copies of copyrighted music.[1]

Although Mp3skull was among Alexa's Top 500 websites in 2013, it suffered a drop in ranking due to a Google algorithm update that impacted sites considered to be promoting piracy.[2]

As of February 2016, RIAA and other Music Labels have won over 22.2M over Mp3Skull yet the website simply moved to a new domain.

Blocking and censorship

Mp3skull claimed to comply with the DMCA and removes infringing content reported by content owners.[3]

On February 2013, Internet service providers (ISPs) in the United Kingdom were ordered by the High Court in London to block access to Mp3skull, along with other similar websites.[4]

On 17 April 2015, a lawsuit was filed against the operators of the site. The music companies involved in the suit asked for $22 million in statutory damages and a permanent injunction that prevents domain registrars and registries from working with the site.[5][6][7][8][9]

It has been speculated that the lawsuit was filed as a way for the record labels to backdoor SOPA and use it further as a precedent to take other domains and websites down.[1]

Similar lawsuits against Hotfile and IsoHunt ended with both sites being shut down and settlements of $80 million and $110 million respectively.[10][11]

In October 2015, the website was submitted to USTR as a notorious pirate site by RIAA. According to RIAA, mp3skull is the most highly-trafficked MP3 site of its kind in the world as of 2015.[12][13]

As of February 9 2016, RIAA had requested a total of 1,769,414 URLs on mp3skull.com to be removed from Google's search results.[14] RIAA has mentioned the website specifically in their blog as well as in a public forum by CEO Cary Sherman.[15][16]

The site's domain name was changed from mp3skull.com to mp3skull.to early in 2015, and the site has been operating via different domains ever since.[13][17]

On 24 February 2016 group of prominent RIAA labels have won a default judgment against the site in a lawsuit started on 17 April 2015. Listing 148 music tracks as evidence, the companies asked for the maximum $150,000 in statutory damages for each, bringing the total to more than $22 million. After careful deliberation this request has now been granted by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke. In addition, the Judge has issued a permanent injunction preventing the site’s operators from engaging in copyright-infringing activity in the future. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]

In spite of the decision the site is still up and online. [23]

References

  1. 1 2 "Major Record Labels Use Lawsuit Against MP3Skull To Try To Backdoor In SOPA". Techdirt.
  2. ↑ "Google's New Search Downranking Hits Torrent Sites Hard - TorrentFreak". TorrentFreak.
  3. ↑ "Copyright Complaint Form".
  4. ↑ List of websites blocked in the United Kingdom
  5. ↑ "Major Record Labels Sue MP3Skull Over Mass Piracy". TorrentFreak.
  6. ↑ "RIAA, back on anti-piracy warpath, sues song-linking site MP3skull". Ars Technica.
  7. ↑ "RIAA seeks $22 million in damages from MP3Skull".
  8. ↑ "RIAA Labels Want $22 Million Piracy Damages From MP3Skull". TorrentFreak.
  9. ↑ COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
  10. ↑ "Hotfile Shuts Down and Takes User Files With It". TorrentFreak.
  11. ↑ "isoHunt Shuts Down After $110 Million Settlement With The MPAA". TorrentFreak.
  12. ↑ "RIAA and MPAA Report Notorious Piracy Sites to U.S. Government". TorrentFreak.
  13. 1 2
  14. ↑ "Copyright Removal Requests – Google Transparency Report".
  15. ↑ "MP3Skull: A Site Dedicated To Ripping Off Music - RIAA". RIAA.
  16. ↑ "RIAA Wants Google to End Piracy "Whack-A-Mole" - TorrentFreak". TorrentFreak.
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-wins-22-million-piracy-lawsuit-against-mp3skull-160225/
  19. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/26/music-labels-damages-mp3skull-owners
  20. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2016/02/26/illegal-download-site-mp3skull-owes-the-music-industry-22-million/
  21. ↑ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/02/riaa-gets-22m-default-judgment-against-brazen-and-egregious-mp3-website/
  22. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6890434/riaa-shuts-down-mp3skull-pirate-site
  23. ↑ https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-wins-22-million-piracy-lawsuit-against-mp3skull-160225/
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