Record Industry Groups Take Action Against Fake Music Streams in Germany

Global recording industry trade organization IFPI has worked with the German national group, BVMI, to take action against five websites in Germany which manipulate music streams in exchange for payment.

Today (Aug. 24), the two groups announced that German courts have issued injunctions ordering each site’s operator to cease its service. That includes the operators of Socialnow.de, Socialgeiz.de and Likergeiz.de, Netlikes, Likesandmore and Fanexplosion.de, the last of which has already stopped offering artificial plays following receipt of a cease and desist letter from BVMI.

“The recorded music sector continues to invest in and drive the development of the legitimate digital music market around the world, working to ensure that those who create music are remunerated fairly and accurately for their work,” said IFPI CEO Frances Moore. “Streaming manipulation companies deprive right holders of revenue and mislead consumers. We are committed to tackling this problem. These latest legal actions in Germany are an integral part of our strategy of taking on these sites wherever necessary around the world.”

Related

IFPI Forces Closure of Site That Sold 'Fake' Plays on Spotify, YouTube

03/03/2020

In March, the organization also helped take down streaming manipulation site Followerschmiede.de, and last year, IFPI and BVMI were part of an industry-wide coalition of record labels, publishers and collecting societies which issued a code of best practice aimed at detecting and preventing stream manipulation.

“For fans and artists, confidence in digital music services is crucial, not least because music is now a predominantly digital medium,” added BVMI chairman/CEO Dr. Florian Drücke. “Against this background, there is no room for anti-competitive influence large or small, and these important court decisions once again demonstrate the music community’s determination to continue to take consistent action in this area.”