--Previous Message--
: It is no secret that BitTorrent and other file-sharing sites and
: networks are used as a marketing tool by the entertainment
: industry. TV-industry insiders have admitted to uploading shows
: to BitTorrent in advance to generate buzz, and bands do the same
: even though they have a hard time admitting it.
:
: Aside from using file-sharing sites to bring attention to new
: material, they are also used by the music industry to make
: critical business decisions. As we've shown in the past from
: leaked information, record labels use 'illicit' download
: statistics to determine what singles to put out next.
:
: Although file-sharing networks are clearly seen as a valuable
: marketing tool, the entertainment industry prefers not to admit
: this in public and especially not in courts, where they have to
: convince judges how evil these sites are and that piracy is in
: fact killing their industry. This can sometimes lead to
: embarrassing situations of which we have a brand new example
: today.
:
: In the ongoing battle of RIAA record label EMI against music
: search engine MP3tunes, a recent court filing reveals that EMI
: was actively marketing their music on RapidShare. Interesting,
: yes, but also quite embarrassing since EMI was labelling
: RapidShare as a known 'Piracy Haven' in the same case.
:
: "In defense of the Sideload.com music search engine,
: MP3tunes told the court that EMI promoted bands by distributing
: free MP3s online. EMI told the Judge our position was 'pure
: fantasy' claiming that EMI never distributes free mp3 songs
: online," Michael Robertson of MP3tunes told TorrentFreak.
:
: "Thanks to our users we quickly amassed a list of more than
: 1400 such fantasy EMI songs that were available online and in
: depositions they finally admitted they put free songs online so
: they would spread 'virally'," Robertson added.
:
: Faced with this new evidence EMI decided to change its position
: and argue that MP3tunes' website Sideload was linking to
: 'suspect' places such as RapidShare. However, this was not a
: particularly strong argument as the defending party had evidence
: that EMI was using the file-hosting service to market tracks
: from their own artists, including their best selling act
: Coldplay.
:
: "They say we link to RapidShare which they called a known
: haven of piracy. However we uncovered internal emails where EMI
: themselves put songs on RapidShare and sent emails to others
: instructing them to download them from RapidShare. With EMI
: spreading files far and wide, their experts grudgingly admit
: that it's impossible to tell which links are authorized and
: which are not," Robertson said.
:
: Unfortunately all the juicy details about EMI's use of
: RapidShare are "filed under seal" since the record
: label claims they are corporate secrets and as such can't be
: made available to the public.
:
: In the sealed document, MP3tunes' lawyer refers to an EMI
: employee placing music on RapidShare and sending emails to
: bloggers and marketers telling them to get the song from the
: file-hoster, TorrentFreak was told. This is of course a painful
: revelation for EMI as they themselves claim that RapidShare is a
: piracy haven, blaming MP3tunes for linking to it.
:
: EMI is maintaining a double standard when it comes to
: file-sharing sites, to say the least. It seems that they
: themselves can use the service to promote their artists, but as
: soon as others make this information accessible they try to shut
: them down in court – a repeat of the same file-sharing hypocrisy
: we've seen in the past.
:
:
Message Thread 
« Back to index