Fake Vinyl Empire: Four 70-Year-Old Presses Powered £2.7m Racket That Included Taylor Swift and Beatles

A man who generated about £2.74 million from selling counterfeit vinyl records made using four 70-year-old presses has been jailed for three years and six months.

Rehan Ahmed, 40, of Southall, west London, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Friday for what City of London Police called 'a long-running, highly organised and entirely unlicensed manufacturing operation'.

Police said his Phoenix of Vinyl factory in Acton, west London, generated £2.743 million through the sale of counterfeit vinyl records between 2017 and 2024, and that officers had uncovered the largest seizure of its kind in the UK.

Ahmed, who also traded as Paragon Music, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching artists' copyright and acquiring and using criminal property. He was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

Raid Exposes Underground Pressing Plant

The operation unravelled in February 2024 after the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) made a test purchase from the Acton premises and found evidence of counterfeiting, police said. Record labels later confirmed that the titles infringed their copyright.

Officers from the force's Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) then executed warrants at the site. Ahmed was arrested after the raid and later charged, while officers found what they described as a fully operational pressing plant.

About 18 tonnes of evidence was seized, including the four presses, 3,000 metal stampers used to imprint music onto discs, and thousands of sleeves and centre labels. In all, police recovered 2,791 finished records covering 108 artists, with Adele, Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny, Drake, Beyoncé and Rihanna among those copied, police said.

Counterfeit pressings of Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar and Ed Sheeran records were also made, with stock supplied to record shops or sold to fans through online platforms including Discogs and eBay.

The case comes amid a revival in vinyl sales that has seen collectors pay premium prices for limited editions and coloured pressings.

Music Industry Vows Crackdown on Fake Vinyl

Det Con Daryl Fryatt, of PIPCU, said: 'Rehan Ahmed exploited artists and the wider music industry, taking advantage of the resurgence in vinyl records for his own gain.

'We will continue to pursue criminals who target the creative industries and bring them to justice when they do. This case should send a clear message to anyone selling counterfeit vinyl: it is illegal and we will take action.'

Peter Ratcliffe, the BPI's director of content protection, said: 'This conviction is hugely significant and we thank our partners in this investigation, PIPCU and our label members for their valued efforts over many months to bring about this welcome outcome.'

He added: 'With music on physical formats enjoying a resurgence, the market in counterfeit records has unfortunately also been growing as criminals cash in at the expense of creators and fans.'

Mr Ratcliffe estimated that counterfeiting across the industry had taken 'tens of millions of pounds' from artists, record labels and shops. He said the industry, working with PIPCU and trading standards, was 'absolutely focused' on shutting down counterfeiters.