Nuclear Blast Announces Dropping of Lawsuit Against All Shall Perish Downloaders

Back in May, we reported that World Digital Rights, a company in Panama which owns licensing rights for the music of All Shall Perish, would be taking 80 fans to court for illegally downloading the band's 2011 album, 'This Is Where It Ends.' From the beginning, the band opposed the lawsuit, speaking out in support their fans despite the illegal downloading. Luckily for those All Shall Perish fans, the charges have now been dropped.

Upon hearing that World Digital Rights were attempting to sue the 80 fans for $150,000 each, All Shall Perish manager Ryan Downey spoke on behalf of the band to TorrentFreak about the lawsuit. “The band’s attorney made it clear to the licensing people [at Nuclear Blast Records] that the band wanted no part in lawsuits against fans," said Downey. "The industry is changing, illegal downloading is troublesome for bands and of course, for record labels, but whatever the solution will be – streaming, subscription, Kickstarter, new ways of looking at it entirely, whatever comes about – the band and I are in agreement (as is their lawyer) that SUING MUSIC FANS SURE ISN’T IT." Downey also added that the band had never even heard of World Digital Rights or that they owned licensing rights to All Shall Perish's music.

The following statement confirming that the lawsuit was indeed dropped, was released earlier today by Nuclear Blast.

Nuclear Blast and SKP Enforcement UG, who are experienced in tracking illegal downloads and the file sharing of music, recently decided to cooperate with World Digital Rights to fight against file-sharing piracy in the USA. In the United States, the providers are obligated by law to hand out the IP addresses of the computers from which the downloads / file shares were generated. By collecting this information, these companies are also acting in the interest of our artists, which is essential to the future of both our bands and the label.

To be able to recoup the investments both parties have made is crucial in order to produce new music and to survive in this business. Nuclear Blast, SKP Enforcement, and World Digital Rights want people to be aware that the peer-to-peer file sharing is illegal and hurts the bands and record companies they love.

That said, Nuclear Blast also respects bands such as All Shall Perish that do not wish to pursue file sharers. All Shall Perish was not consulted about this course of action and did not wish to participate in it whatsoever. When they learned about it, they immediately asked us to cease all legal action against their fans, file traders or otherwise, as soon as they learned this action had been taken in their name. Therefore,Nuclear Blast and World Digital Rights decided recently to stop legal actions against the file sharing with songs from the band All Shall Perish.

In all other cases, the parties involved pursue those violating copyright laws to avoid the financial loss they incur and to protect the value of their copyrights.

Nuclear Blast counts on the loyal fans which have been supporting the label and our bands for over 20 years now. Every sale helps support metal and the people that work hard to bring metal to the masses. For those that continue to buy music legally, that is something every loyal fan can be proud of.