The U.S. government has seized control of the file-sharing site Sharebeast. The domain name now leads to an FBI anti-piracy warning. The same is true of a similar site, albumjams.com.
The Recording Industry Association of America issued a statement applauding the government's decision to act against "the largest music illegal file-sharing site operating in the United States." Cary Sherman, Chairman & CEO of the RIAA, declared, "This is a huge win for the music community and legitimate music services. Sharebeast operated with flagrant disregard for the rights of artists and labels while undermining the legal marketplace. Millions of users accessed songs from Sharebeast each month without one penny of compensation going to countless artists, songwriters, labels and others who created the music. We are grateful to the FBI and the Department of Justice for its strong stand against Sharebeast and for recognizing that these types of illicit sites wreak major damage on the music community and hinder fans' legitimate listening options."