Time for the remix: Man sentenced for selling CDs featuring other artists’ music
A man from East Yorkshire has been handed a suspended jail sentence for selling remix CDs featuring music by other artists.
Marc Kearns, a 47-year-old from East Cowick, pleaded guilty to multiple charges but was ultimately sentenced to a 26-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, as well as 250 hours of community service last week.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council said Kearns created and sold CDs “containing unauthorised remixes of well-known tracks, using identifiable elements of original sound recordings without permission from the copyright owners,” (per BBC News).
The sentencing came at the end of a lengthy investigation from the council’s trading standards officers, which spanned a number of years.
Profiting from the work of other artists is illegal under copyright laws, particularly since Kearns did not gain permission from the artists in question to use samples of their music in his remix CDs.
After Kearns was sentenced at Hull Crown Court last week, the council said they hoped that the punishment being imposed would send a powerful warning to those who may be carrying out similar activity.
After the ruling, Councillor Lynn Healing said: “Counterfeit and unauthorised goods undermine fair trading and can generate significant illicit profit.”
She added: “We will not hesitate to take robust enforcement action where offences are identified, and this sentence sends a clear message that such activity will not be tolerated.”
Copyright laws in the UK stipulate that anyone found guilty of individual offences could be handed short-term jail sentences or fines ranging from £5,000 to unlimited amounts.
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