Spotify & Major Labels File $13 Trillion Lawsuit Against Anna’s Archive

In one of the largest copyright infringement cases in digital history, the major record labels—Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music—have joined forces with Spotify to sue the pirate activist group Anna’s Archive. The lawsuit follows the group’s brazen announcement that it had “scraped” nearly the entire Spotify catalog, totaling 86 million music files.

The $13 Trillion Threat

The legal battle, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Anna’s Archive of a “brazen theft” involving roughly 300 terabytes of data. Under U.S. law, statutory damages can reach up to $150,000 per infringed work.

With 86 million scraped files at stake, the theoretical damages total an astronomical $13 trillion—a figure that underscores the unprecedented scale of the infringement.

A “Legal Ambush” and Domain Seizure

The industry utilized a “silent” legal strategy, filing the lawsuit under seal in late December 2025 to prevent the hackers from moving their infrastructure. This “legal ambush” resulted in a surprise court order on January 2, 2026, which led to the immediate suspension of the group’s primary .org domain.

While Anna’s Archive initially downplayed the loss as “routine” for shadow libraries, unsealed court documents now confirm the shutdown was a direct result of the Spotify litigation.

Allegations of Hacking and Profiteering

Beyond copyright infringement, the plaintiffs allege:

DMCA Violations: Circumventing Spotify’s digital rights management (DRM).
Computer Fraud: Violating the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act via unauthorized API access.
Profiteering: Soliciting “donations” via cryptocurrency and gift cards in exchange for high-speed access to pirated content.

Current Status

As of mid-January, Judge Jed S. Rakoff has issued a preliminary injunction ordering all domain registries and ISPs to disable access to Anna’s Archive sites. While the group has attempted to pivot to new domains, reports indicate they have temporarily removed the “Spotify download” section from their platform in a partial attempt to comply with the court’s aggressive ruling.