RIP Torrent Site RARBG

[EndtheMadnessNow]

RIP. This was my main source for years. Another apparent casualty to Covid & war.

Today, the site’s fifteen year run unexpectedly came to an end. In a message posted on the site’s front page, the team says its farewells. This message has been separately confirmed by a source familiar with the matter.

RARBG cites multiple reasons behind the surprise decision, including COVID-related health problems which led to the tragic death of one of the people involved. The war between Russia and Ukraine also impacted the team, with RARBG suggesting that it had members fighting on both sides.

“The past 2 years have been very difficult for us – some of the people in our team died due to covid complications, others still suffer the side effects of it – not being able to work at all. Some are also fighting the war in Europe – ON BOTH SIDES,” the team writes.


The rising costs of operating from data centers in Europe also played their part. And with revenue having trouble keeping up with the rising costs, shutting down the site ultimately seemed the best solution.

“Inflation makes our daily expenses impossible to bare. Therefore we can no longer run this site without massive expenses that we can no longer cover out of pocket. After an unanimous vote we’ve decided that we can no longer do it.”
“We are sorry Bye,” the message concludes.

The shutdown also marks the end of the popular RARBG releases, many of which were shared through other pirate sites as well. These high quality releases which, aside from the early days never included CAMs, are among the most downloaded in history.

Today’s shutdown is one of the largest in the history of torrent sites. It’s also the first major closure since the 2015/2016 period, when KickassTorrents, Torrentz, and ExtraTorrent all left the scene.

Needless to say, there will be plenty of copycats who are eager to take over the RARBG brand. However, the real RARBG is no more.

Iconic Torrent Site RARBG Shuts Down, All Content Releases Stop

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

I am not familiar with the site.

I will not be surprised to see many others following close behind, or making major changes in their operations.

No more false proclamations of being free.

You speak allowed speak, or you no speak.

[Ninurta]

Dammit.

I stopped torrenting a couple of years ago, but when I was torrenting, RARBG was my main go-to. They had some seriously high quality stuff.

Dammit.


.

[SimeonJ]

The torrents of RARBG still operates but I suppose its not for too long.
Bulgarian Government announcing it has plans to block Zamunda (another big Bulgarian tracker) and piratebay locally. Of course those two events are not connected in ANY way . BG in RARBG is for Bulgaria.

https://www.segabg.com/hot/category-cult...payrut-bey (in Bulgarian)

[EndtheMadnessNow]

The torrents of RARBG still operates but I suppose its not for too long.
Bulgarian Government announcing it has plans to block Zamunda (another big Bulgarian tracker) and piratebay locally. Of course those two events are not connected in ANY way . BG in RARBG is for Bulgaria.

https://www.segabg.com/hot/category-cult...payrut-bey (in Bulgarian)

.BG nah, not connected at all.  

Quoted here in English from your link:

Court blocks access to Zamunda and Pyrot Bay

The Bulgarian Association of Music Producers won the first case in our country to block access to pirate sites, the organization announced today.

The decision, handed down at first instance by the Sofia City Court on May 31, 2023, requires three Internet providers in Bulgaria to take action to suspend and block their subscribers' access to the web pages where the online file sharing platforms ThePirateBay and Zamunda. The announcement did not identify the three ISPs.

Not only the main web pages should be blocked, but also their mirror sites (proxies), including those not specifically mentioned in the court decision. The case was brought by BAMP in 2020, both on behalf of its members and on behalf of major IFPI member record labels.

"Bulgaria joins 20 countries around the world that have already blocked The Pirate Bay, including 13 countries in the EU. Zamunda, a local BitTorrent site, has so far not been blocked in other countries, as Bulgaria accounts for 80% of its traffic. This decision will undoubtedly have a key impact on limiting piracy in our country in the future," the organization commented.

"We welcome the decision of the Sofia City Court, which marks a major step forward in the recorded music industry's fight against online music piracy. For the first time in Bulgaria, a court decision has been issued to block access to pirated websites, and we consider this precedent an important step in the right direction," commented Petya Tocharova.

Despite a number of attempts to shut them down and also internal infighting, popular pirate sites continue to exist.