April 20, 2026 A U.S. court has ordered shadow library Anna’s Archive to pay $322 million in damages after finding it liable for scraping and distributing music from Spotify. The ruling also directs internet service providers to block access to the site and prevent further distribution of the scraped files.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by Spotify alongside Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment after Anna’s Archive announced plans to create a large-scale “preservation archive” for music. According to filings, the group had scraped 256 million rows of track metadata and 86 million audio files, intending to distribute them via BitTorrent.
Judge Jed S. Rakoff issued a default judgment after Anna’s Archive failed to respond to the lawsuit. The court found the group guilty of direct copyright infringement, breach of contract, and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Spotify is set to receive $300 million in damages, while Sony and Universal Music will receive $7.5 million each. The lesser share of $7.2 million would go to Warner Music.
The ruling also cited conduct during the case itself. The court found that Anna’s Archive released portions of the scraped content despite a preliminary injunction prohibiting distribution. According to filings, songs were made available on February 9 through 47 separate torrents after the injunction had been issued.
While the court found Anna’s Archive guilty of direct copyright infringement, breach of contract and violation of the Defense Contract Management Agency, it dismissed a further claim of violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
The ruling comes after Anna’s Archive said in a since-deleted post that the scraping was an act of preservation.
Enforcement remains uncertain, as the operators of Anna’s Archive are anonymous, raising questions about whether the damages will be recovered. However, the court’s order extends beyond financial penalties, requiring internet service providers to disable access to the platform and block hosting or distribution of the materials.
