A greedy DJ systematically ripped off musicians and record companies – cheating them out of nearly £221,000 – by brazenly ignoring copyright rules and creating his own CDs to sell online as part of a shameless money-making scam. Marc Kearns – known in the music world as DJ Marc Landish – ran his “illegal and fraudulent” business for about five years before the “sophisticated” dodgy operation was halted.
The poor quality of his do-it-yourself CDs and their cheap, amateur-looking packaging was so bad that investigators soon realised that they were sub-standard copies and that “genuine musicians” were losing out. It was a deliberate “breach of copyright law” because the DJ had not been given a licence to use the music, Hull Crown Court heard.
Kearns, 47, of Back Lane, East Cowick, near Snaith, west of Goole, admitted making, for sale or hire, music CDs that infringed copyright, distributing CDs that infringed copyright and distributing, in the course of a business, CDs containing illegal recordings, between June 2017 and September 2022. He also admitted possessing CDs containing music that infringed copyright as well as possessing a laptop, CD burner and printer for making copies of copyrighted work.
Stephen Robinson, prosecuting for East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said that Kearns was selling compact discs, which contained songs that he was not permitted to use. “He was acting in breach of copyright law as he had been given no permission or licence to do so by the relevant rights holders or the company representing them,” said Mr Robinson.
“The discs sold were of poor quality in terms of the packaging and the discs used. He sold the items through eBay and his company’s own dedicated website over a period of several years.”
In April 2018, an investigations executive of the British Phonographic Industry, which represents the recorded music industry, became aware that Kearns was selling discs online through Facebook, eBay and his own website. He made a test purchase of three volumes of The History of House “Mixed by Marc Landish” and four volumes of The Village Box Set.
“None of them had been manufactured by any member of BPI Ltd and he formed the view that they were counterfeit,” said Mr Robinson. The label was poorly printed and the discs contained recordings belonging to BPI members.
A further test purchase was made in November 2019 of four more volumes of The Village Box Set. They were counterfeit. Another test purchase was made in April 2022 and the discs were again counterfeit.
A warrant to enter the home of Kearns was issued and, during a search on September 15, 2022, equipment was found, including printing equipment, recorded material, inserts for CDs, packaging and postage labels.
“There were also items in padded, addressed envelopes ready for posting,” said Mr Robinson. During interview, Kearns confirmed that his stage name was Marc Landish and that he earned money by working as a DJ.
He admitted that he used music that was freely available online, created mix tapes and offered them for sale. He claimed that he did not realise that the items breached copyright.
“He claimed that he thought copyright law was just a civil matter,” said Mr Robinson. Email and online chats with other people, however, revealed that he knew that what he was doing was illegal.
A financial analysis suggested that he received £220,979 from sales of CDs – but this was not the same as profit because he had production costs. “He may have had an expectation of significant financial gain,” said Mr Robinson.
Oliver Norman, mitigating, said that Kearns had a full acceptance and understanding of his criminality and he had a level of remorse. His risk of reoffending was “incredibly low” and he wanted to warn others of the risks of such behaviour in the DJ world.
“He wants to try to bring something constructive out of this event in his life,” said Mr Norman. Father-of-three Kearns had a driving-related previous conviction for failing to provide a specimen.
There had been no further offending. “He has demonstrated that he can stay out of trouble,” said Mr Norman. Kearns had worked recently as a teaching assistant but he gave that up and was now on Jobseeker’s Allowance. “He is trying to re-establish his life living as a law-abiding citizen,” said Mr Norman.
Judge Alexander Menary said that the offending was “sophisticated” and inquiries revealed that no licence to use the music had been granted to Kearns. “You knew from the outset that this was illegal and fraudulent,” said Judge Menary.
“It was a cavalier approach to your responsibilities.” Kearns used the work of “genuine musicians” but he “had the temerity to challenge someone” for using his own work – which was “hypocrisy of the highest order”.
Kearns received £220,979 from the counterfeit CD sales, meaning there was a significant loss to the original artists and a significant gain to him. “This offending is serious,” said Judge Menary.
“It was a significant amount of money that you made from your offending.” The record companies could take action if they wanted, the court heard.
Kearns was given a suspended prison sentence of two years and two months and 250 hours’ unpaid work. He was ordered to pay £21,885 prosecution costs within one year. A deprivation order was made for the equipment used in the operation.
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