British file sharing site OiNK got dey asses busted, as we say in Chicago, this week following more than 2 years of scrutiny by the IFPI (International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, the RIAA of ‘over the pond’) and British and Dutch police. An unnamed twenty-something, believed to be the site’s administrator, will be having his mail directed to his friend local lockup for the foreseeable future.

The invite-only, donation-fueled site notoriously leaked prominent records weeks or months before their official release dates, and members who downloaded them more often than not passed them along to pals, blogs, and other P2P sharing sites. According to Brit blog Downed in Sound, authorities are convinced that the bust is a major move towards controlling all illegal use of copyrighted music:

“OiNK was central to the illegal distribution of pre-release music online,” said Jeremy Banks, the head of IFPI. “This was not a case of friends sharing music for pleasure. This was a worldwide network that got hold of music they did not own the rights to and posted it online.”

I dunno, Jeremy. I kind of think that file sharers are like cockroaches - when one means of survival is lost to them, they find another. Oink may have had a whole lot of stuff up for grabs, but it’s ultimately just a drop in the bucket of a bigger problem.

Am I right, or am I totally off the mark?

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