US Department of Justice shuts down illegal music file-sharing website Sharebeast.com

Sharebeast.com, the largest music file-sharing website in the U.S., was shut down by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the weekend. Visitors to the website are now greeted by an FBI Anti-Piracy warning, declaring that the bureau has seized the domain name of Sharebeast.com.

Last year, the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, reported over 100,000 copyright infringing files were available for free on Sharebeast. It now calls the shutdown of Sharebeast a huge win for the community it fights for, RT reports.

“Sharebeast operated with flagrant disregard for the rights of artists and labels while undermining the legal marketplace,” said RIAA Chairman and CEO Cary Sherman on the association’s website. He further praised the FBI for its successful takedown of what he said is the "biggest illegal website in the U.S."

Sharebeast became notorious for illegally distributing a massive library of popular albums and tracks even before songs were released via legal means. Now the site is left with nothing but an FBI notice on its website.

The now inactive Twitter account of Sharebeast also previously posted newly distributed tracks from Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, Big Sean and Kanye West, among others. A noteworthy post is Kanye West’s upcoming album SWISH, which it was reportedly hosting after an alleged leak of the album last May.

Sharebeast doesn’t only share music files, however. It also distributes videos and TV files and enables illicit streaming.

A studio-commissioned report back in December 2014 included Sharebeast among the top 250 go-to sites for pirate music and TV files in the United Kingdom. During the time, FIFA and its partners pushed hard for the removal of illegal streaming of the FIFA World Cup 2014. Sharebeast was one of the sites FIFA wanted to eliminate.

Sharebeast’s sister sites albumjamas.com and mp3pet.com were likewise shut down by the U.S. DOJ.

Sharebeast Shut Down by Justice Dept, RIAA Says (Credit: YouTube/Wochit News)

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