Jesus Dances Off To Jail

Newcastle Crown Court sentenced Kane Robinson of North Shields to 32 months, while Richard Graham of Leicestershire gets 21 months.

Robinson and Graham had used the Dancing Jesus site to share music, often before the tracks had been officially released.

The website allowed the posting of tens of thousands of illegal links to music which they had uploaded. The British Phonographic Society, the City of London Police and the US Department of Homeland Security had apparently been investigating Robinson and Graham since 2010.

The BPI reckoned the site had posted links to more than 250,000 individual tracks between 2006 and 2011. Graham and Robinson had both admitted the illegal distribution of music at previous hearings.

“Piracy – particularly pre-release – can make or break an artist’s career, and can determine whether a record label is able to invest in that crucial second or third album,” said BPI Copyright Protection Unit director David Wood.