Italian police arrest uploaders of earthquake charity single

ROME, Italy (IFPI) - Three people living in Rome and Milan have been identified by Italian Fiscal Police (GdF) as the original illegal uploaders of the charity single Domani 21/04/09.

Domani 21.04.09 was recorded by 52 leading Italian artists, including Bocelli, Pausini and Zucchero, to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake that struck the city of L'Aquila in April 2009 with devastating effect.

The track was made available on the internet for free through the DirectConnect Network and free file-hosting services such as Rapidshare, as soon as it was available from legitimate online music stores.

Italy's Fiscal Police (GdF) worked with local industry anti-piracy unit FPM to trace the original uploaders of the track. This investigation led to today's raids in Rome and Milan, which prompted the seizure of hard discs containing more than 1,300 gigabytes of music files.

The three suspects face criminal penalties of up to four years' imprisonment and huge administrative fines if they are found guilty of illegally uploading the track. It is estimated that the distribution of the illegal copies of the track will cost one million euro in lost revenues for the charity.

Luca Vespignani, General Secretary of FPM, said: 'This was an important action by the Fiscal Police.
Domani 21.04.09 was released to raise funds for people who have gone through the shock of losing their homes and loved ones. We hope that fans who like the song will buy it through legitimate channels and help raise money for this worthwhile cause.'