Following widespread criticism stemming from his decision to sue his fans over internet links to copyrighted music files, Prince announced late Tuesday that he was abandoning the $22 million dollar lawsuit.
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“Because of the recent pressure, the bootleggers have now taken down the illegal downloads and are no longer engaging in piracy,” according to a comment from Prince’s lawyer obtained by TMZ.
“We recognize the fans craving for as much material as possible, but we’d prefer they get it from us directly than from third parties who are scalpers rather than real fans of our work.”
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Prince’s lawyer did not mention that the lawsuit drew much scrutiny when it was featured in an article on the front page of Reddit. Most Redditors were not favorable to the Purple Rain singer’s complaints.
Prince’s lawsuit targeted fans who “engaged in massive infringement and bootlegging of Prince’s material” on a Facebook group, and the website WorldOfBootleg.blogspot.com — specifically 363 copyright infringing music files.
The RIAA was not party to Prince’s lawsuit but sympathetic in his efforts to prevent copyright infringement.
“Since we’re not involved in the suit we can’t comment on its specifics,” said RIAA spokeswoman Cara Duckworth Weiblinger. “But generally any time an artist is compelled to proactively take action to protect their music, that’s completely their prerogative.”