DJ Drama Arrested For Illegal Mixtapes

DJ Drama

THE NEW YORK TIMES reports that DJ DRAMA, best known for his mixtape collections, was arrested on TUESDAY night (1/16) with DON CANNON, a protege. The police, working with the RIAA, raided his office in ATLANTA. The association makes no distinction between counterfeit CDs and unlicensed compilations like those that DJ DRAMA is known for. So the police confiscated 81,000 discs, four vehicles, recording gear, and "other assets that are proceeds of a pattern of illegal activity," said Chief JEFFREY BAKER of the MORROW, GA police department, which participated in the raid.

DJ DRAMA (whose real name is TYREE SIMMONS) and CANNON were each charged with a felony violation of GEORGIA’s Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization law (known as RICO) and held on $100,000 bond.

BRAD BUCKLES, EVP for anti-piracy at the RIAA, said, "A sound recording is either copyrighted or it’s not." And he said the DJ DRAMA case, like most piracy cases, began with illegal product, which was then traced back to the distributor. Chief BAKER said that before the raid, DJ DRAMA and CANNON were sent cease-and-desist letters from a local lawyer.

Read the full story here.

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