The year is 2026, and a UK man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to the unauthorized mixing and selling of music CDs, and thus breaking copyright laws. Marc Kearns, 47, of East Cowick, near Snaith in East Yorkshire, has been handed a 26-month prison sentence, which will be suspended for 18 months, reports the BBC. He will also have to carry out 250 hours of community service work (unpaid) for his sins.
Perhaps Kearns’ greatest sin was living in the past. The Yorkshireman could have been untouchable, plying his remixes in the cobwebbed corners of the internet. But perhaps his customers were also firmly embedded in the shiny CD-era, with a fondness for hand-made compilations burned on beige desktop PCs. So, direct physical trade was probably the easiest route to profit from his remix CDs featuring music from well-known artists.
