Doctor Who Theme Repository closed down by order of the BBC
 

Well, looks like the Doctor Who Theme Repository must finally close its doors. I got this e-mail yesterday (Thursday, June 1) at around 12:30 in the afternoon, from the BBC Counterfeit Items Brand Protection Team.


If you look at the Theme Repository now, you'll notice that it's been shut down. We had a good run and we knew it couldn't last forever, but it's still very sad to see it go. :(

I for one am very very sad to hear this:(

Pfft. Stupid BBC.

It is very sad. I am proud to say that during its year of operation, the Doctor Who Theme Repository received an amazing 100,000 downloads. I got to be quite famous... a bit too famous, perhaps. Oh well... at least I made a positive difference to thousands of Doctor Who fans around the world.

Indeed. You have that to be proud of.

Thank you, Ross.

If it wasn't for you I wouldnt have any closing themes in my collection. :)

OH, thats a bit of an RTD isn't it? Rounding it off like that:P Was that the exact number?

No, unfortunately I deleted all the files before I was able to check. It's also a bit of estimation, because I know I only had 40,000 downloads on the new site, but the new site was only running for about a third of the time the site was online, so extrapolating for the previous two-thirds of the time, I came up with the figure of an additional 60,000. There were likely more than 100,000, but that's where my guess will remain at.

Danny, i am shocked and angry at this, i only heard a couple of themes, but they were brilliant. the BBC are being killjoys, they were popular. I am so sorry about this mate. as a mark of respect, could i possibly have some? to stick on my PSP and iPod so they are never forgotten :) I never actually had the adress, so i never heard all of them.

I'm working on getting a possible new solution online as soon as possible. I'll keep you informed -- thanks for your support. :)

Beware of lawyers, nothing can stop them, not even a fat mans armpits :P

The BBC wrote: "Your disclaimer has actually recognised the ownership of the DR WHO brand and associated themes, but by offering this material for others to download you are infringing the rights of BBC and others."

They always find an excuse. First Aggedor.com, now the Theme Repository.

Danny Stewart wrote: "I got this e-mail yesterday (Thursday, June 1) at around 12:30 in the afternoon (EDT), from the BBC Counterfeit Items Brand Protection Team."
The BBC wrote: "If we have not received your undertaking, or any of the above items are still available, by Friday June 2nd at 9am Eastern Time (1400 hrs BST) we will assume that you do not wish to co-operate, and we will consider further action against you."

And how dare they give you less than 24 hours' notice. Maryland is in the Eastern time zone, so they only gave you 21 hours' notice. Even 24 hours is too short. What if you'd been on holiday?:confused:

Lucas doesn't seem to have any problems with fansites supporting a franchise that is significantly larger worldwide than DW.
They're already complaining about the current season on IMDb's boards. The last thing the BBC can afford to do right now is turn their own fans against their flagship show.

Shame. The Theme Repository will be greatly missed.

Otherwise, have a nice weekend.

Very true. It's a shame that they don't let things like this go on. Life's too short to deprive people of things they have no other way of getting, like rare Doctor Who themes from 20 years ago plus.


That had occurred to me... if I'd been away from my e-mail even for a day, they may have filed a lawsuit or something just because I couldn't get to my e-mail! I really think that was unfair of them. The least they can do is give me 48 hours worth of notice or more... surely that's not unreasonable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BritCanuck Lucas doesn't seem to have any problems with fansites supporting a franchise that is significantly larger worldwide than DW.

I have no firsthand experience regarding this but it strikes me as a bit surprising. What sort of stuff do they allow to go on? Anything comparable to what I was doing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BritCanuck They're already complaining about the current season on IMDb's boards. The last thing the BBC can afford to do right now is turn their own fans against their flagship show.

I agree, but in the end, they know the people they go after for doing things like this are the diehard fans and will always watch the show anyway, so they don't lose out in the end... and even if they did, it would only be a very small handful of viewers lost to them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BritCanuck Shame. The Theme Repository will be greatly missed.

Agreed. I'll miss having it around... I put a lot of time and effort into collecting all those themes together, and it was always a high priority because I knew so many people counted on me and enjoyed the site. But all good things must come to an end. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by BritCanuck Otherwise, have a nice weekend.

Thanks, mate. Same to you. Keep in touch.

Hi Everyone
Im really really upset to hear the Theme Repository has been shut down. I would like to say that I think over the last few months the Repository has given Doctor Who fans an insite into the Themes and will greatly be missed.
Im really sorry for whats happened.
Speak to you all soon.

It seems a lot of people will miss the repository.

Also, sorry to bring something so irrelevent into the conversation, but what have you ever done that's longer? You've no basis for comparison. :P

Ross has a point :P

Thanks for your support, Sam.

Yes, and a lot more people that I don't even know.

Wait, what? I'm sorry, I don't understand the question... I was just saying that the Doctor Who themes were really old and that people are only on this planet for a brief span... why not just let people have the music they want?

because of Lawyers and executives.

Well, obviously. I'm just saying it's not fair.

is it a breach of human rights?

I don't mean to start an argument,as angry as we are, but we must rest assured that the BBC are doing whats best for Doctor Who.
Think about it, Doctor Who and the BBC make money out of selling CD's and casettes with the Doctor Who theme tune, the theme repository was giving them out for free, and if people went to the theme repositry for the music, the BBC loses money for unsold CD's. I think they took it down before every fan went to the repository for music instead of paying, if this had been so, the BBC may have lost so much money that they would not have been able to go on to make further series'.
I'm not taking any sides here, I'm just assuring all of you that the BBC isn't a big evil monster :P

It can be on occassions such as this, but I agree it's general not an evil monster. Hey, it shows Dcotor Who, it cant be. :P

Yes, but Ronn, think also of it this way -- many of the tracks I was offering on the site were never released, or were only released on a single CD that was produced in the 1970's and is completely unavailable today. The BBC wasn't losing money on those tracks because they're not selling them anymore, and now people have no way of getting them anymore.

By 1970s I think you mean an LP. CDs are relatively new. :P

Yes, sorry for the mistake but my point stands.

Point taken :)