According to the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), which represents all major music labels, about 30,000
pirated CDs, 10,000 DVDs and the equivalent of 421 CD burners were
seized following the Monday morning raid in an industrial
complex.
Other equipment and raw materials were also confiscated. Three
individuals were apparently arrested and now face charges of
trafficking in counterfeit labels, criminal copyright infringement
and trade mark counterfeiting.
The RIAA claims that the alleged piracy ring was the largest
supplier of pirated music to individual vendors, retail locations
and distribution centres on Canal Street in Manhattan, operating
around the clock with an estimated capacity of at least six million
pirated discs each year.
The RIAA, which estimates that the alleged piracy ring had the
potential to cost the industry up to $90 million annually, said
that it expects the operation "to pay further dividends", since it
"successfully struck at one of the major choke points for music
piracy in the New York City area."
The music industry has repeatedly blamed CD-burning and on-line
file sharing for the sharp decline in music sales, which have
dropped 15% in the past two years. Recent research, on the other
hand, claims that piracy is not responsible for the drop in music
sales and suggests that labels can restore industry growth by
enabling consumers to find, copy and pay for music on their own
terms.
