Australian music industry representatives are taking aim at a particular kind of copyright infringement, specifically websites which rip the audio from YouTube videos. If successful in their quest, a whole bunch of the sites could be blocked in the country, the ABC reports.

While piracy across the industry has dropped thanks largely to licensed streaming services and greater accessibility to music in general, ripping audio from streaming sites like YouTube is apparently becoming a growing issue. Essentially, the websites in question allow users to whack a link into them which is then turned into a straight audio or video file to be downloaded. In other words, it gives people the ability to obtain copyrighted material for free without the permission of its creator.

A number of Aussie record labels joined the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on the issue, which was raised in the Federal Court yesterday. Ultimately, the interested parties would like to see sites like Convert2mp3 and 2conv blocked in Australia the same way torrenting sites like The Pirate Bay have been.

“There are many avenues for consumers to get the music they love at a range of price points from licensed streaming services and licensed digital services,” general manager of Music Right Australia, Vanessa Hutley, told the ABC. “These sites do nothing but rip off the creativity of Australian artists and Australian labels.”

The main argument is that these websites exist primarily to facilitate copyright infringement, but it’s not known exactly to what extent the Australian industry is affected.

DJ legend, KLP, also weighed in on the issue, saying that while blocking sites like this is a start, the biggest hurdle is getting fans to understand the worth of music, which I certainly agree with. I have no issues spending cash on music because I know it supports the artists I love, but not everyone sees it that way.

Whether the push for these sites to be blocked will go ahead or not is uncertain at this stage, but if torrent sites can be made inaccessible, then these probably can be too.

Source: ABC News
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