Two British internet pirates were yesterday (November 11) jailed for illegally distributing music.

The charges relate to the website DancingJesus.com, on which more than 22,500 links to 250,000 individual titles were made available between 2006 and 2011, many of them preceding the official release date. The site had more than 70 million user visits during its lifespan and it is estimated that if half of them downloaded a whole album for free, the cost to the industry would be £242m.

Site owner and administrator Kane Robinson, 26, of Wyndham Way, North Shields, North Tyneside, set up the site in his teenage bedroom in 2006. He was jailed for two years and eight months at Newcastle Crown Court after admitting earlier this year to illegally distributing music.

Another individual, Richard Graham, 22, of Astley, Leicestershire, was jailed for 21 months for illegally distributing thousands of files on DancingJesus.com. About a third of the 8,000 tracks he posted had not yet been released. Prosecutor David Groome claimed that 46 of the 50 best-selling singles of 2010/11 were leaked to DancingJesus before release.

Robinson’s September 2011 arrest was made with the help of US Homeland Security and City of London Police when it was found that DancingJesus.com and similar website Choonzm8 were being run via servers in Dallas, Texas.

At the earlier hearing, Judge Deborah Sherwin told Robinson that piracy reduced the ability of the industry to promote and fund new artists and is not a victimless crime. Robinson had said he barely made an money from the site and was motivated by the kudos of uploading new music first.

The director of trade body the BPI’s Copyright Protection Unit, David Wood, said (via The Guardian: “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to the operators and users of illegal music sites that online piracy is a criminal activity that will not be tolerated by law enforcement in the UK or overseas.
“Piracy – particularly pre-release – can make or break an artist’s career, and can determine whether a record label is able to invest in that crucial second or third album.
“In this day and age, with so many quality digital music services available, offering access to millions of tracks through free and premium tiers, there is no good reason to use pirate sites that give nothing back to artists and offer a sub-standard experience for consumers.
“Speaking as a music fan, it just doesn’t make sense to help criminals when you can support artists.”