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What Happens to MegaUpload’s Grammy Winning CEO Swizz Beatz?

mega ceoOne of the many unanswered questions regarding the MegaUpload shutdown today is what happens to the company’s new CEO?

A few days ago MegaUpload surprised friends and foes by listing rapper/producer Swizz Beatz as CEO. Beatz is not named in the indictment which was made on January the 5th, which may have saved him.

Beatz was one of the stars who endorsed MegaUpload in public, and he reportedly recruited several artists for the Mega Song promotion.

Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean, is married to R&B superstar Alicia Keys, and won his first Grammy Award in 2011 with Jay Z for the song “On To The Next One.” Aside from working at MegaUpload, Beatz is also producing Dr. Dre’s highly anticipated third studio album Detox.

Beatz’s appointment connected MegaUpload to many of the biggest musicians in the business. This could have come in handy as MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom was working on a plan to crush the major “dinosaur” labels, who he says are not giving musicians what they deserve.

Mega’s competing music venture is/was called Megabox, a site that would soon allow artists to sell their creations directly to consumers. And unlike the traditional record deals where artists get only a fraction of the revenue, with Megabox the musicians would get to keep 90% of earnings.

Needles to say, the raids and arrests today delayed this plan.

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  • Anonymous

    i really hope the MAFIAA bit off more than they can chew this time

    this action against a potential competitor is clearly illegal, and i hope courts proof that soon.

    • http://pogue972.blogspot.com/ pogue972

      I can’t see this ending in any other way than like Universal v Grokster. People are saying “Oh well, there are plenty of other sites like Megaupload out there” but this move is obviously one made to scare people into not starting sites like this in the first place if they fear retribution from the entertainment industry and US govt.

      Remember when Limewire went down, many others like eDonkey simply voluntarily shut down to avoid liability. I fear the same may happen in this case.

      • Guest

        Remember RapidShare…Yeah, that’s right…They suffered this shit…and guess what? They’re still going. Megaupload has a ligitimate place on the net too. They have broken no more laws or rules than Rapid.

        • Aoljunkie

          Except that’s not what really did MU in. The money laundering and global racketeering charges are what caused so many countries that usually brush off copyright infringement claims to jump on board. MU founders and employees listed in the indictment are in for one uphill battle.

        • http://profiles.google.com/zerianis10 Christopher Kidwell

          Aoljunkie, the money laundering charges might be, to put it mildly, bullshit. Made up in order to give weight in order to get Megaupload raided.

        • ZiggySig

          I don’t really understand, but how does a website business racketeer anyone?

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay

          @ZiggySig

          Look at the conspiracy charges. These are actually charges that were strengthened to fight the drug war. Now they’re using this plus the civil asset forfeiture laws to cripple Kim’s ability to fight back as well as make him more susceptible to a plea bargain.

          This isn’t about what’s right, this is about what the state can get away with.

        • PrincessLaikita

          I don’t see them shutting down all those corrupt football coaches and politicians and dead people buildings because they were crooks…

      • Anonymous

        I’d agree except that its not a bunch of kids ripping off “DA MAN,” its an indie label being attacked because its having some success outside of the industry’s clutches.

        Some ass hole just got Megaupload some free publicity and ended his career practicing law.

  • TelezarZ

    Maybe Swizz Beatz was the first big artist to believe in the power of internet file-sharing sites to promote artists.
    Megaupload was shutted down because the world saw how it was able to promote indies artists without the greedy corporations behing their back.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Point5communications Will Buckley

      I always find this argument interesting. Yes, file sharing can be a powerful way to promote artists. But my question to you is why shouldn’t the artist choose how they want their work distributed and whether they want to give it away for free?

      The record label model, as we knew it in the past, is dying. The emergence of independent labels is the future and there is a proliferation of streaming sites where people can listen to music and decide if they want to purchase it or not.

      So what’s the problem?

      • anon

        The problem comes in when the person decides to buy it.. The majority of the money goes to the labels and others.. Only a very small portion goes to the actual artists.

  • Duke

    Presumably, as the indictment was made on the 5th, and only actioned today, he isn’t included in it due to not being directly involved in the company at the time. I imagine it will also be a lot harder to get any evidence of his involvement in the alleged crimes and conspiracies.

    • Anonymous

      Good point, will add

    • anon

      I see it more as… He has a lot more money and a lot of fans that could cry out and make this into something so unfavorable for the riaa and the like. If they thought they could make an example out of him with little to no backlash.. They would.

      Right now they can run it under the guise of bullshit charges. If they charged him as well it would be seen to most as bullshit.

      From what I can tell so far. It’s just trying to cut out the competition before it became competition.

  • Pingback: MegaUpload Shut Down by the Feds, Founder Arrested | TorrentFreak

  • anonibug

    “Needles to say”

  • Alyssa Blindy

    I feel like the authorities are trying to silence him, more than anything else.

  • http://best-newsgroup-provider.com/ Best Usenet provider

    “Copyright encourages investment, invention and innovation”

    of course but there was not only illegal content on megaupload…

    Have a look on
    http://www.alternativemegaupload.com to get an alternative to megaupload!

    • Anonymous

      “Copyright encourages investment, invention and innovation”

      it does not, it stifles that

      • http://profiles.google.com/zerianis10 Christopher Kidwell

        More like, copyright past a certain very limited amount of time does that. 5 years would be good for the maximum that something can be copyrighted, to allow someone to get a ‘return on investment’ in time, money and energy.

        • anon

          Copyright all in of itself.. Stifles. Regardless of the time limit. Be it 1 year 5 years or 100 years.. It stifles for the period of time it is in effect.

          With that said.. I wouldn’t be 100% against a 5 and or possibly 7 year time frame. After a max of 7 years it goes back into the public domain where it belongs.

          Same deal with patents.. With the added bonus.. If you don’t use it or show progress of putting it to market in a reasonable time frame…… You lose it.

      • MadocComadrin

        No, copyright done correctly does provide security for the market to exist. Copyright done wrong…well, is this.

  • Michealewk

    Anonymous its time these fools were taken down like the FBIs cyber division

  • just another AI

    so the instant the big firms get threatened, they wipe them out using a corrupt government. now ain’t that sad for the (former)land of the free?

    • Guest

      Still like the Wild, Wild West. Ah, good, good day; apple pie, soda pop, corrupt politicians…nothings changed then.

  • Anonymous

    Lets give a nice big Middle Finger Salute to the Feds who are apparently like most US politicians for sale to the highest bidder!

    http://www.Total-Privacy dot US

    • Spam Flagger

      Nice try… but ya still can’t hide the fact tat ya still spam! FLAGGED!!!!

    • No Thanks!

      Total Privacy :x

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_I4RWMBTZNNJQNCDKIQSBYMR46Y ¤ß¥±£ ®

    KING KONG HAS GOT NOTHING ON MEGAUPLOAD.COM!!

  • TelezarZ
  • Unknownwake

    Wait, a record label that gives artists 90% commission? Good luck finding a capable manager and promo team with connections willing to take less than 5%.

    • Tesla

      you obviously have no idea of the power of the internet
      how exactly did you ever find this place? big billboard? big commercial on tv?
      about the only people that have not heard of Google are either in seriously oppressed countries or people not interested or capable of using modern technologies.
      commercial advertising by those methods is old hat, history, a thing of the past, expensive and out-dated, pretty much a waste of space and money.

    • Anonymous

      if you have no physical production costs and are not a greedy asshole it works out well for both sides

    • Ozwin2

      have you never watched jerry maguire??!? sometimes less is more, greed is for the corrupt just like the american government…. time for a (.com) that includes every country except america, its simply ridiculous what they are doing. no america you cannot have my soul, if i tattoo a brand name on my heart are you going to arrest me? take my heart?

  • Pingback: What Happens to MegaUpload’s Grammy Winning CEO Swizz Beatz? | U Torrent Free Download

  • ndmushroom

    I wonder if buying the Feds actually cost less than the legal costs RIAA would have to bear while defending the DMCA abuse related to the censorship of “that” Megaupload video. After all, it seems the DOJ has set the bar pretty low…
    I also wonder why it is that companies appearing in the MAFIAA’s “black lists” haven’t ditched their .com/.org/other US based domains yet. The Megaupload seizure has made it pretty obvious that any US-based site can be taken down anytime, regardless of whether they’ve committed something illegal. Let .com die, it’s not as if there aren’t any alternatives!

  • Anonymous

    I can’t believe they went and arrested him in ANOTHER country!!!

    p.s. LOL @list of the owner’s seized cars: (i call dibz on the royce!)
    http://www.peeje.com/positivity/5666-megaupload-sued-defendants-property-lol

  • Antonio

    chi è ‘sto negro?

  • http://dark7.org/ kyle

    90% is still only a fraction of the revenue…

    • anon

      9/10 vs what 3/100′s? Which.. “fraction” would you prefer?

  • Pingback: MegaUpload.com ?????? ??? | ?????

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  • StopTheMadness

    It is a paid storage unit with unlawful seizure? They just Hijacked/confiscated file sharing storage lockers, Only one Kim is to blame and No One is upset? How would he (kim) know what the hell was in the lockers. He is only the landlord for the love!!

  • Pingback: MEGAUPLOAD shut by FBI, leaders jailed, artists revolt, SOPA/PIPA supporters are pirates « SCROB.tv Juggalo Art

  • Zachf420

    How did Swizz Beats ugly hooked nosed ass land Alicia Keys?

  • Pingback: Megaupload’s Takedown: How Is Swizz Beatz Involved? | Life is...

  • Iki

    So, if I got a security box in a bank in wich I stored a pirated copy of the last Metallica cd, the FBI would shut down the bank and arrest everyone?

    • http://www.facebook.com/craigiestar Craig Wood

      …It’s worth a try…

      might show the government how ridiculous these powers already are.

  • Jason

    Share the below to the world, thanks for illegally destroying our files on Thursday:

    http://pastebin.com/iquHfjBa

  • BTGuard - BitTorrent Anonymously

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