Spinrilla Gets Sued By Major Record Labels

The founder of up-and-coming mixtape streaming/downloading service Spinrilla has found himself in litigation, after major music labels issued a lawsuit against the site.

On Friday (Feb. 3), The Recording Industry Association of America sued the website and its founder Jeffery Dylan Copeland in Georgia federal court, according to Hollywood Reporter. The labels listed on the suit include, UMG, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic Recording Corporation and LaFace Records.

The recording companies are claiming that Spinrilla is giving away their copyrighted works.

“Through the Spinrilla website and apps, users with an artist account can upload content that any other user can then download or stream on demand for free, an unlimited number of times,” writes attorney James Lamberth in court documents. “A substantial amount of content uploaded to the Spinrilla website and apps consists of popular sound recordings whose copyrights are owned by Plaintiffs.”

Over 21,000 copyrighted works have been pointed out in the legal action as being made available for free by the site. In a statement issued by the RIAA, the company chastised the site, writing, “Spinrilla specializes in ripping off music creators by offering thousands of unlicensed sound recordings for free. Fans today have access to millions upon millions of songs from innovative platforms and services that pay creators — this kind of illicit activity has no place in today’s music marketplace.”

As of press time, Spinrilla is still up and operating. A take down notice on the site states: “Spinrilla takes copyright infringement very seriously. In order to provide the best mixtapes and ensure top quality we do not allow infringed upon works to be posted on our website.”

The labels are seeking actual or statutory damages and an injunction.

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