Google shuts down music blogs without warning

**Vation** · 13.02.10, 23:15

Bloggers told they have violated terms without further explanation, as years of archives are wiped off the internet

In what critics are calling "musicblogocide 2010", Google has deleted at least six popular music blogs that it claims violated copyright law. These sites, hosted by Google's Blogger and Blogspot services, received notices only after their sites – and years of archives – were wiped from the internet.

"We'd like to inform you that we've received another complaint regarding your blog," begins the cheerful letter received by each of the owners of Pop Tarts, Masala, I Rock Cleveland, To Die By Your Side, It's a Rap and Living Ears. All of these are music-blogs – sites that write about music and post MP3s of what they are discussing. "Upon review of your account, we've noted that your blog has repeatedly violated Blogger's Terms of Service ... [and] we've been forced to remove your blog. Thank you for your understanding."(...)

source and further reading:
Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Music | guardian.co.uk

**slikrapid** · 14.02.10, 00:49

anyone interested in the actual music that was promoted on these blogs will probably still be able to get a good portion of it by using g**gle cache or other (OCH) hoster link indexing sites

a few fun to read comments:

if you have a blog you'd be worried about being deleted without warning then don't have it hosted on a free server run by a massive global company? Just a thought.

I wonder what other products Google plans to delete without notice?

So Google have deleted these blogs over concerns they violate copyright law.

This would be the same Google who, with their Google Books Library Project, have for the past few years have been scanning in-copyright printed material on a massive scale without obtaining permission to do so from the copyright holders? A project that the Authors Guild of America and the Association of American Publishers describe in their lawsuit as 'massive copyright infringement'?

Google is starting to worry me

it is amazing how many posts get taken down when they are fully legal. I have had tracks sent by record labels, agents and even the artists themselves that have been deleted with no warning.

I recently had a very heavy handed note from my ISP threatening to end my account for downloading a film. Which I hadn't downloaded. When challenged to provide evidence, all the ISP could do was mutter about 'being informed' that I'd done this. No further info on how had 'informed' or how I could go about challenging the information or how I could clear my name in the ISP's eyes. So. It seems people are getting dire threats and even blogs taken down on no evidence at all, never mind evidence that would stand up in a court (where they'd be prosecuted in the real world)

What I find really objectionable about the whole music industry rant about illegal downloads is the whole notion that musicians deserve to get paid over and over and over again for recording a 3 minute song in the first place.

Yes, I accept that artists deserve to make money from their talent in the same way that we all use our skills and abilities to earn a living, but why should anyone have a 50 or 60 year right to go on milking it. Copyright laws need huge revision...

**BrianBosworth** · 14.02.10, 02:18

The google blogger sites are a crown jewel for rare music. Anything that I can't find on the newsgroups or torrent sites can usually be found on the blogger sites.