A court in Barcelona, Spain has ordered the country’s internet providers to block access to seven torrent sites.
The sites included in the court order are Masquetorrent.com, Isohunt.to, 1337x.to, Limetorrents.cc, Torlock.com, Torrentfunk.com and Extratorrent.cd.
According to Spain’s recorded music industry body Promusicae, citing data compiled by SimilarWeb, the torrent site 1337x has had more than 85 million visits over the last year, and had a global Alexa ranking of 274.
Citing the Site Worth Traffic service, Promusicae also states that this website could be generating an annual profit of around $1.3m.
“Court rulings like this one..prove that we are moving forward in the right direction.”
Antonio Guisasola, Promusicae
President of Promusicae Antonio Guisasola (translated) said: “In the end, creators and producers’ efforts will not go to waste.
“Beyond the global hard-hitting economic crisis, the music industry has suffered a dramatic period that destroyed tens of thousands of jobs and put at serious risk the very development of our cultural assets.
He added: “Changes to encourage new and more accessible consumption patterns need the support from legal and administrative authorities to get rid of unfair competition of illegal businesses and court rulings like this one which prove that we are moving forward in the right direction.”Music Business Worldwide
