A California record label wants to legally thrash the New Yorker who made a thrash-metal album available for free download online.
Rotten Records says someone in the jurisdiction of Brooklyn federal court, which includes Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, is responsible for posting a digitized version of the 1992 Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album “Definition” for free download on BitTorrent, a file-sharing network.
The 13-song disc, which features titles such as “Acid Rain,” “Tone Deaf” and “Dry Heaves,” goes for $10.99 on Amazon.The anonymous culprit is identified only by the IP address of his or her computer.
A lawyer for the record company says it’s impossible to know how much Rotten Records lost in potential sales during the six months last year the album was available online.
Now Rotten wants an injunction, along with unspecified damages, against the digital pirate.
“I pay a royalty to my artists, I pay salaries to my employees and I have a family to feed,” said Rotten Records owner Ron Peterson. “If you steal from me for a solid six months and refuse to stop when I repeatedly ask you…I have no choice but to sue.”