First UK music file-sharing arrests made

Six British people detained for downloading music illegally

Jun 3, 2008
8 Comments
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Six British people were recently arrested by police for illegally downloading music files prior to their official release – the first time such arrests have been made in the UK.

The six individuals used to be members of now-defunct file-sharing website OiNK. They were released without charge, reports BBC Newsbeat.

Cleveland police confirmed that the individuals were arrested "in relation to uploading pre-released music".

The OiNK website was shut down last October by Cleveland police, after its Amsterdam-based servers were located and wiped.

Were you one of the file-sharers arrested? If so, e-mail news@nme.com and tell us about the experience.

What's your take on the arrests? Do you download music illegally? Will this news of first UK arrests affect your downloading behaviour? Sign into MyNME below and leave your comments.

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Comments (8)

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gergbot

Jun 3, 2008

come on nme, who's going to admit they download illegally now? All you need is the cops to read it then you're screwed.I used to download illegally, I still know people who do. I think music is an art and should be there for as many people to listen to as possible. Illegal downloading doesn't necersarilly mean bands won't get paid a fortune for what they make. It does still feel nicer buying the actualy cd though.

wrighty1892

Jun 3, 2008

I download music illegally but I also make sure I buy the albums of the artists I like and want to support. For example this year I've bought The Last Shadow Puppets, Foals and a few other albums. I like to support bands I like and I also like to have physical copies of albums. At the same time I don't see any harm in downloading music that I wouldn't have otherwise bought as a few times I've heard music and gone out and bought the album as a result.

jeffn

Jun 3, 2008

Ultimately downloading free music is good for music fans - it promotes more competition and means bands have to work harder and create better music. BUT there are plenty of LEGAL downloads out there - use sites like sellaband, cherryecho.com, and slicethepie, that's where smart new bands are uploading their music and gaining a fanbase - it may take time, but sites like these will ultimately force more and more mainstream acts to be more generous.

indiekids

Jun 3, 2008

hey NME dont turn me in but i download music for free but as soon as its out in the shops i buy it so i'm not doin any thing wrong

booicore

Jun 3, 2008

Downloading illegally has prompted me to buy much more music than I usually would have. However I haven't bought a bad album in ages as I can try before I buy. People who exclusively download illegally are the same type of people that would have just 'taped it' back in the 80's, the record companies weren't selling anything to those people then and they won't do now either.

ed2005

Jun 4, 2008

Agree with pretty much most of the comments above. I would much rather have an original album than a CD-R of it, indeed I'd rather own it on vinyl. Booicore is right, they won't sell anything to the people who only download. yes I have downloaded and taped stuff, but when I had the money gone and bought it. It's called back catalogue sales, but iof you only focus onthe mid-weeks and first weeks in the record industry you won;t remember this.Oh, and there are a lot of 'indie' albums released in the late eighties and nineties that I would have bought if I could or downloaded...but they aren;t even availbale on iTunes or emusic. so guess what happens instead?

gergbot

Jun 8, 2008

bands also make much more money of touring, so if you download the album, your more likely to go see them and pay money for a ticket, t shirts etc.

www.we7.com

Jun 9, 2008

Its desperate to see an Industry who wages war on its customers, rather than work out and nuture new models which avoid this. The good news is the industry is embracing new models but this type of thing does nothing for all the hard work by the digital teams trying to change the future. Jeffn is right though legal free music access is on the increase as I know while we build We7 we continue to get more support because the fan knows what the deal is with us from day 1Steve PurdhamCEO - We7www.we7.com