Muxtape RIP? : Earz Magazine

Muxtape RIP? - Updated

August 19, 2008 · Words: Martin S ·

overpaid goons shut down muxtape )-:

Bad news for fans of Muxtape, the mp3 playlist sharing site. Since somepoint yesterday the site has been “unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)”, who like to take issue with innovative music-sharing platforms. The irony is that according to a post on the official Muxtape blog: “no artists or labels have complained” about the site, and they also added “the site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned.”

It’s a shame that such a masterwork of website coding, which is so hugely popular with music fans worldwide, has been taken hostage by an organisation which seems less to represent the interest of musicians and artists than the financial interests of big business, and though many people predicted the RIAA would have a bad word or two to say about Muxtape, this is just another case of backwardness and the stifling of creative progress, executed by a bunch of overpaid book-burning hired goons.

Update: RIAA Says Muxtape Hosting “Illegal Content”… Confirmed for any doubters.
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I’ve just received the following statement from a RIAA spokesperson regarding Muxtape.

“For the past several months, we have communicated our legal concerns with the site and repeatedly tried to work with them to have illegal content taken down. Muxtape was hosting copies of copyrighted sound recordings without authorization from the copyright owners. Making these recordings available for streaming playback also requires authorization from the copyright owners. Muxtape has not obtained authorization from our member companies to host or stream copies of their sound recordings.”

RollingStone asks “How screwed is Muxtape?”- reckons they’re on solid ground- but a court battle would cost millions.

Attorneys familiar with the territory say the make-your-own mixtape site may be on solid legal ground with a potential case against the RIAA. According to Fred Von Lohmann, Electronic Frontier Foundation’s senior intellectual property attorney, the site is protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which provides for a so-called “safe harbor” for hosting material on behalf users, and the same defense used by user content sites like YouTube.

“I think they have a strong legal defense,” Von Lohmann told RollingStone.com. “The problem is if they might not have that money to go to court and take on the RIAA.” Von Lohmann said legal fees could cost around $2-3 million…

Posted in Internet & Music