Music industry declares war on stream-ripping

Stream-ripping is a process that allows users to turn a YouTube video into a downloadable MP3. Registering a 50 percent increase in only two years, it is a massive threat to the music industry, which is now taking legal measures to avoid further financial losses.

YouTube-mp3 (YTMP3), one of the largest stream-ripping websites, has been taken to federal court by the Record Industry Association of America and the British Recorded Music Industry. The 39-page complaint filed Monday in California accuses website owner German Philip Matesanz of direct copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement, inducement of copyright infringement and circumvention of technological measures.

“A recent survey found that 57 million persons in the United States are engaging in copyright infringement of sound recordings using unauthorized online services, including stream ripping services,” reads the complaint.

With over 60 million unique users per month downloading music illegally on tablets, mobiles and computers, the music industry is asking for a jury trial and demands internet service providers block access to all stream-ripping websites that “deprive artists of the fruits of their labor.”

The plaintiffs are UMG Recordings, Inc.; Capitol Records, LLC; Warner Bros. Records Inc.; Warner Music Latina Inc.; Sony Music Entertainment; Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC; Arista Records LLC; Atlantic Recording Corporation; Elektra Entertainment Group Inc.; Fueled by Ramen, LLC; Kemosabe Records LLC; LaFace Records LLC; Nonesuch Records Inc.; WEA International Inc.; and Zomba Recording LLC.