Shutting Down The Most Popular YouTube Download Site

The final decision on the lawsuit against YouTube-MP3.org was launched by a number of record companies, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, ​and Warner Music Group among others.

The judge has not yet signed the document, but the decision is in favor of the companies. The site must pay a solid fine and surrender the domain to the plaintiffs. YouTube-MP3.org converts YouTube videos into high-quality​ MP3 files, which are then downloaded by the user. Converting a standard clip to an audio track takes 3-4 minutes. RIAA said it was the largest site in the world to retrieve audio from videos.

Recording companies filed a copyright infringement complaint last September, which says the site is responsible for 40% of all cases of illegal audio retrieval. The IFPI International Federation has suggested that this method of downloading music is one of the most blatant cases of piracy ​since almost half of 15 to 24-year-olds​ use sites like YouTube-MP3.org. The claim specifically lists 304 musical works illegally extracted from the videos. Record companies want $ 150,000 in each case for a proven copyright infringement.

The site still works, but with interruptions.