Pitchfork

Bad news for people who like illegal free music has come this morning, as the popular torrent-sharing network OiNK has been shut down by British and Dutch police, according to a BBC report. The home of a 24-year-old IT worker from Middlesbrough, England, was raided, as was his place of employment ("a large multi-national company") and his father's home. OiNK's servers, located in Amsterdam, were also seized. The IT worker, allegedly the mastermind of the operation, "is being questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and infringement of copyright law," the BBC says.

OiNK was an invitation-only service in which membership was maintained by the consistent sharing of new music torrents. The more tunes you uploaded, the better your standing. Monetary donations were also encouraged.

According to The Northern Echo, OiNK boasted up to 180,000 members. The BBC reports that the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) claims that OiNK was responsible for leaking "60 major pre-release albums this year alone."