Record Labels Suing Youtube Ripping Site

Since the death of Limewire, the number of third-party sites have had an increase over the years – as they’ve become the primary source for people to obtain new music without purchasing them. 

The most recent method of obtaining music illegally has been the ripping of tracks from Youtube, and it looks like record labels have caught on.

Universal, Warner Bros, Sony and a number of other record labels are now suing YouTube-mp3.org, an online service used to easily convert Youtube videos to MP3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the German company, owned by Philip Matesanz, was sued in California federal court today, with claims that Matesanz is responsible for “40% of all unlawful stream ripping that takes place in the world.” The record labels are also suggesting that “tens, or even hundreds, of millions of tracks are [being] illegally copied and distributed by stream ripping services each month.”

According to The Hollywood Report, the suit “demands an order that would also enjoin web hosts, domain-name registrars and other third parties from facilitating access to youtube-mp3.org and providing advertising, financial and technical support. Additionally, the record labels are seeking statutory damages and costs.”

The entire complaint can be read here.