50,000 pirate discs seized in German raids

Berlin, 30th November 2009

The Federal Association of Music Manufacturers has announced that German police successfully raided a clandestine CD factory and seized 50,000 counterfeit discs.

Police detained a suspect who stands accused of distributing and selling unlicensed dance music albums. A raid on the suspect's home recovered multiple PCs, burners and four high-performance printers designed to print onto CDs.

The action was the result of close cooperation between the police and legal services provider ProMedia GmbH, which was retained by the Federal Association of Music Manufacturers to work on the case.

Professional CD music piracy remains a huge problem in Germany, with one study estimating the loss to the industry at €870 million over five years (Brenner, 2008).

Jeremy Banks, director, anti-piracy at IFPI, which represents the recording industry worldwide, says: "Physical music piracy is still a significant problem for the music industry across Europe and organised gangs continue to chase profits by selling counterfeit CDs. These criminals should realise that while internet piracy may dominate the headlines, we are still also focused on countering CD piracy and will work with law enforcement agencies worldwide to bring them to justice."