Over 100,000 copies of 'Grey Album' downloaded

Cyberbiz Brief

By BEN FRITZ

More than 100,000 Internet users downloaded copies of DJ Danger Mouse's "The Grey Album," a mix of Jay-Z's "The Black Album" and the Beatles classic "White Album" on what organizers dubbed "Grey Tuesday," Feb. 24.

According to Downhill Battle, the group behind Grey Tuesday, Web sites that participated in the event said at least 100,000 copies of the album were downloaded free. DJ Danger Mouse did not obtain permission from EMI, which owns "The White Album," or from Jay-Z, leading to threatening letters from EMI's legal team to a number of Web sites that took part in the event.

Organizers said Grey Tuesday was meant to protest the power of corporate record labels in the music industry and their unwillingness to allow independent artists to use their content and gain power in the market, while an EMI rep said DJ Danger Mouse simply failed to go through proper channels to obtain rights to "The While Album" and was looking to gain fame at the Beatles' expense.

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