Hiphop group Advance Patrol was used by the music industry in the Pirate Bay trial, portrayed as artists suffering losses from illegal downloading. However, the group itself was never consulted, and they are now striking back at the music industry by releasing their new album for free - on The Pirate Bay, of course.

During the Pirate Bay trial, the prosecution showed how various torrents linking to infringing material could be downloaded from the Pirate Bay, including an album by the Sweden-based hiphop group Advance Patrol. The music industry lawyers then claimed that the Pirate Bay was aiding in copyright infringement and that the artists and labels were losing millions of dollars.

Interestingly, the bands and artists, including Advance Patrol, were never informed that they were to feature in the trial. Even worse, Advance Patrol feels that they were abused by the labels, as they are using BitTorrent themselves, and encourage their fans to do the same.

“We never asked to be plaintiffs in this case,” Gonza from Advance Patrol explains. “They used us as scapegoats in a fight in which we don’t wish to participate. We refuse to be used in a war against our fans.”

Gonza further explains that the people who download and share the band’s music are some of their most dedicated fans, not some criminals. To show how wrong the music industry was in targeting The Pirate Bay, they have decided to share their latest album “El Futuro” for free.

The Pirate Bay crew is delighted with Advance Patrol’s statement. “In the case against us the music industry used many artists without asking them first. The cooperation between us and Advance Patrol shows that not all of those who were plaintiffs wanted to be a part of the Spectrial circus.”

“Earlier we’ve seen the hip hop artist Max Peezay drop out of the trial proceedings, and when we’ve spoken to other artists they were upset as well. This shows that artists really like the internet, and of course – we love them right back,” we were told.

More and more artists are speaking out against the harsh anti-piracy efforts of the music industry lobby and the alienating effect it has on fans. Several top artists including Robbie Williams, Radiohead, Iron Maiden and Travis even founded their own lobby group, the Featured Artists Coalition – to stand up for their own rights and those of their fans.

Advance Patrol’s latest album can be downloaded via The Pirate Bay, and they encourage everyone to share it with as many people as possible.