Spanish Cops Bust Mix-CD DJ
June 19, 2008
- Global
| Legal and Management
By Lars Brandle, London
A British-born DJ has been arrested by Spanish authorities on the island of Mallorca on suspicion of selling unlicensed mix albums.
The Guardia Civil arrested the unidentified man, who is alleged to have sold "large numbers" of the illegal CDs to some of the 200 bars and clubs on the Mediterranean island.
The IFPI today applauded the detainment, which followed an international operation involving officers from the Palma Guardia Civil, Interpol and the Metropolitan Police, and with help from such trade bodies as Promusicae, the BPI and the IFPI.
"This illicit enterprise aimed to corner the market on the holiday island, taking several thousand euros per month which by rights should have gone to the independent record label that actually produced the albums," comments Len Hynds, head of enforcement at the IFPI, in a statement.
John Newton, Interpol's intellectual property program manager, adds, "This was a very simple but very profitable criminal enterprise. The suspect clearly believed that by buying the originals in the UK and selling copies in Spain he would evade detection, a view that turned out to be naïve in the extreme."
The IFPI was tipped off by U.K.-based firm Music Factory Entertainment Group, which had learned that its albums were being sold on the island.
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