Apparently the British are jumping in on the act of telling good MP3 bloggers like Moistworks to cease and desist. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry sent a letter to Moistworks’ host which said, in part:
We have learned that your service is hosting infringing files on its network (see above-referenced directory). These files contain sound recordings by the artists known as Stone Roses and Public Enemy. These sound recordings are owned by some of our member companies and have not been authorized for this kind of use. We have a good faith belief thatthe above-described activity is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law. We assert that the information in this notification isaccurate, based upon the data available to us. We are asking for your immediate assistance in stopping this unauthorizedactivity. Specifically, we request that you remove the infringing files from your system or that you disable access to the infringing files. In addition, please inform the site operator of the illegality of his or her conduct.
You should understand that this letter constitutes notice to you that this site operator may be liable for the infringing activity occurring on yourservice. In addition, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if you ignore this notice, you and/or your company may also be liable for any resulting infringement.
The site should be up once they switch hosts but it certainly seems to send out an ominous meassage, especially since the site tends to offer MP3s by incredibly obscure groups and shies away from the mainstream.
Not to mention, I thought Chuck D was a fan of electronic dissemination of musical media so what’s up with that?