The downtown Atlanta, GA offices of the Aphilliates Music Group were raided this afternoon (January 16), resulting in the arrests of 28-year-old Tyree “DJ Drama” Simmons and 27-year-old Donald Cannon, also known as DJ Don Cannon.
The Fulton County Swat Team, with assistance from Clayton County Police, entered the label’s offices and studios at 147 Walker Street in the early evening hours.
Officials allegedly seized close to 50,000 CDs and took the 17 employees into custody for questioning.
According to authorities, the search executed sought only DJ Drama and Don Cannon, who were charged with making and selling illegal CDs.
“These guys are actively advertising online. They’ve got a website that they’re advertising from, that’s where you place your orders and that’s how the orders are shipped out,” Matthew Kilgo of the RIAA told local reporters. “Statistics also show that you can make up to a 90% profit just off the resale of counterfeit CDs. So there’s huge money to be made in it, and there’s no stigma attached to purchasing it.”
In addition to the CDs, which were taken as evidence and will later be destroyed, police also seized computers, recording equipment and cars on the premises.
Representatives for the Aphilliates Music Group could not be reached for comment.
All links to mixtapes on The Aphilliates Music Group website has been removed and the GangstaGrillz.com website simply advertises a new Gangsta Grillz album by DJ Drama.
Ridiculous how clueless the RIAA and Cops are - “counterfeit” CDs…lol. Come on.
Im not sure exactly what they were doing, but if they were taking other peoples work, and remixing them and selling them at a profit, they deserved it.
I look at it like this. If I design a building, and someone takes that design, tweaks it and calls it their own, cutting into my commission, id be really pissed…
Record labels budget work in with DJs like them - they aren’t DJs like me who use others work on CDs strictly - they basically release mixtapes that aren’t mixed, but all content like exclusive tracks, freestyles, previews of upcoming albums etc
Example: DJ Drama will release a Jeezy mixtape like 4 weeks before the Jeezy album drops. It’ll have a single or two on it off the album, and then a few freestyles, B sides that would be thrown away and never heard, some guest rappers with Jeezy, etc…basically to promote the Jeezy album. They’re paid by record labels to do this. The problem is, the RIAA is an independant source, and not everything is “right” by the books…but they are not simply burning off copies of shit and selling them online - if you pay attention to the video you can see it’s a recording studio where they record rappers etc.
The RIAA dude is very misleading in his segment - he never says that what Drama is doing is actually counterfeiting - they just state some bullshit fact before they mention him. Classic form of misdirection.
There are contractual reasons and copyright reasons why they are breaking the law - but they aren’t really in the wrong and this has been one of those “look the other way” things for years.
[quote=“Black’s Law Dictionary”"]
counterfeit, vb. To unlawfully forge, copy, or imitate an item, esp. money or a negotiable instrument (such as a security or promissory note) or other officially issued item of value (such as a postage stamp or a food stamp), or to possess such an item without authorization and with the intent to deceive or defraud by presenting the item as genuine. • Counterfeiting includes producing or selling an item that displays a reproduction of a genuine trademark, usu. to deceive buyers into thinking they are purchasing genuine merchandise.
[/quote]
So the wording is definately twisted to make them look bad…but this is not a necessary thing (SWAT raiding these dudes) and they are NOT counterfeiting in the sense they are trying to say they are…
Bottom line: The RIAA is out of control and there is no reason for this.
