Spotify shadow library

Photo Credit: Ally Griffin

Anna’s Archive’s .org domain has been suspended, but operators say it’s likely unrelated to their Spotify “shadow library,” which remains accessible.

Open-source shadow library search engine Anna’s Archive has lost its .org domain, which was suspended and placed in “serverHold” status by the .org registry. The move is likely due to legal pressure from rights holders champing at the bit to stop the spread of the shadow library of Spotify’s catalog—but operators say they don’t believe the action is directly related.

Recently, Anna’s Archive claimed to have created a roughly 300 TB “backup” of Spotify’s most-streamed catalog, including audiobooks. The revelation sparked significant copyright concerns from rights holders worried the catalog would be used to train AI.

The archive has faced lawsuits before, including a U.S. case related to scraping the WorldCat library database, and has repeatedly been included on “notorious markets” lists for large-scale copyright infringement. Rights holders in multiple countries have pushed for internet service blocks and intermediary action, and experts have noted that targeting domains is an increasingly popular tactic against large-scale shadow libraries such as Anna’s Archive.

But Anna’s Archive operators have publicly stated that, despite the timing, they do not believe the .org suspension is related to the Spotify backup. Instead, they believe the suspension stems from broader, ongoing copyright and database disputes.

It’s worth noting that losing the .org domain has not shut down the service entirely; Anna’s Archive remains accessible via several alternative domains. In addition to traditional domains, the archive also relies on torrents and decentralized systems to distribute data, which makes completely stamping out such a database significantly more difficult than simply cutting the cord on one domain.

Overall, the matter underscores how shadow libraries sit at an interesting intersection between “digital preservation” narratives and copyright enforcement—especially when they are increasingly used to train AI models and other large-scale data projects.

Domain suspension of high-profile .org addresses signals escalating willingness to target infrastructure supporting such projects. Previously, the American non-profit Public Interest Registry (PIR), which oversees .org domains refused to suspend domains voluntarily, including most infamously The Pirate Bay. Future actions may coordinate more tightly across jurisdictions as lawmakers hone in on piracy and AI-training datasets.