Retro pirate gets two-year suspended jail sentence for being stuck in the past, burning and selling remix CDs of famous artists — four-year investigation into copyright infringement on 40-year-old medium began in 2018

The year is 2026, and a UK man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to the unauthorized mixing and selling of music CDs, and thus breaking copyright laws. Marc Kearns, 47, of East Cowick, near Snaith in East Yorkshire, has been handed a 26-month prison sentence, which will be suspended for 18 months, reports the BBC. He will also have to carry out 250 hours of community service work (unpaid) for his sins.

Perhaps Kearns’ greatest sin was living in the past. The Yorkshireman could have been untouchable, plying his remixes in the cobwebbed corners of the internet. But perhaps his customers were also firmly embedded in the shiny CD-era, with a fondness for hand-made compilations burned on beige desktop PCs. So, direct physical trade was probably the easiest route to profit from his remix CDs featuring music from well-known artists.

Trading standards officers became aware of his trade in illicit CDs way back in 2018. They then began their lengthy investigatory work in 2019, and a warrant was executed in September 2022. The case has only just concluded with Kearns pleading guilty to a number of charges at Hull Crown Court last week.

Commenting on the sentencing, a council spokesperson said of Kearns “This activity enabled him to commercially exploit protected material, generating income at the expense of legitimate artists and businesses within the music industry.” A local councilor also highlighted the potential for generating “significant illicit profit” from the trade in counterfeit and unauthorized goods. They hoped that the sentencing of Kearns, even though it is suspended, would deter other pirate traders.

As we hinted at above, Kearns was probably caught due to his trade involving this old but not totally abandoned physical medium. The way trading standards investigations work, Kearns’s CD remixes business likely left a traceable commercial footprint. However, the sources don’t mention whether he has a market stall, was a car-boot trader, or found customers through mail order, social media groups, or similar.

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