[Audioarchivist]

Posted 7 minutes ago on FaceBook

Genesis-The Movement On Facebook
Simon Funnell ·
Firstly, I would like to thank all of those who have taken the time to contact me privately with kind words of support, I'm truly touched and will reply to the personal messages soon. Also to those who have commented on threads on this group and elsewhere to express their sadness and disappointment. It's the end of an era and the end of a 22 year labour of love.
What happened?
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, I received notification "on behalf of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (“IFPI”) and the record companies it represents globally" stating that "Your service is making available to the public, distributing and/or allowing users to make available to the public and/or distribute unauthorised copies of performances of artists represented by the IFPI Members (“Infringing Content”). "
The instruction was to immediately cease the operation of the site to avoid further action.
It is evident that recent uploads gained the attention of the copyright owners and/or that the site has been reported to the IFPI through their channels. While the site has managed to sail under the radar for a long time with only minor skirmishes, unfortunately times have changed and we no longer just get a slap on the wrists. We were always tolerated by Genesis management, however things are all more corporate now, especially since the rights holders have changed.
I should be clear that although the recent upload may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, just removing that torrent was not an option. It was seen that even the audience recordings are viewed as copyright violations.
Where from here?
There are no plans to resurrect the torrent site. I simply can't take that risk. There are of course other sharing platforms available, however they may also be a bit more guarded that before about what they allow moving forward.
The Live Database at https://www.genesis-movement.org will live on (hopefully) since it is essentially just a list of information with no real copyright infringing material. I have been updating the listings on the site and will go back to doing so after a bit of a break.
So again, thanks to all those who contributed to the site, supported the site, and helped to keep it alive and running for so long. I will miss it as much as you.
Thanks
Simon