Photo Credit: Cameron Bunney
A UK man has received a 26-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to the unauthorized mixing and selling of CDs in violation of copyright law.
If you thought the headline was from 2002, you’d be forgiven. Instead, it’s 2026, and a man in the UK has been sentenced after pleading guilty to the unauthorized mixing and selling of CDs in violation of copyright law. 47-year-old Marc Kearns was issued a 26-month prison sentence, which will be suspended for 18 months. He must also carry out 250 hours of unpaid community service work.
Kearns pleaded guilty to a number of charges at Hull Crown Court and was sentenced on Thursday. The sentence follows a lengthy investigation that began in mid-2019, after the British Phonographic Industry became aware of the offenses in 2018. A warrant was issued in September 2022.
“This activity enabled him to commercially exploit protected material, generating income at the expense of legitimate artists and businesses within the music industry,” said a spokesperson for the Yorkshire Council.
“Counterfeit and unauthorized goods undermine fair trading and can generate significant illicit profit,” added Cabinet Member Lyn Healing. “We will not hesitate to take robust enforcement action where offenses are identified, and this sentence sends a clear message that such activity will not be tolerated.”
Interestingly, sources failed to identify whether Kearns was selling CDs online, via social media, from a physical market stall, or perhaps from the trunk of his car (old-school style). However, his CD-burning and selling business must have left a significant and traceable commercial footprint for the UK government to have gotten involved to such an extent.
The fact that CDs are not an entirely abandoned physical medium probably further aided in his getting caught. As the vinyl boom has been hit with production snags, the CD industry has remained smaller—but still notably bustling since its initial popularity nearly 40 years ago.
Particularly in the K-pop and J-pop scenes, CDs (and cassettes) remain popular among fans for their ability to include limited or unique alternative album covers and photos. To that end, artists like Taylor Swift have continued to find success with the medium alongside vinyl in the West, despite streaming having largely taken over physical alternatives over the last two decades.
