May 13, 2003
Spymac
Matt discusses Spymac, a site that helps you find iTunes users who stream their music libraries. I don’t think Spymac is doing anything wrong here. I know that Live365 pays royalties to the RIAA, but I think they are contractually bound to do so. That is, I’m not sure the law says that Live365 must pay for the sites it lists; rather, Live365 probably chooses to because that’s how it attracts broadcasters (and listeners).
As for the individual broadcasters SpyMac lists: It seems like these are the equivalent of webcasters. Their liability depends on their service. If I understand it correctly, users can select the songs they listen to. These webcasters are “interactive” services and must negotiate a license with the RIAA. If they are non-interactive services (like a typical radio station), they’re eligible for the CARP/Small Webcaster Amendments Act licenses. (Does anyone know if non-commercial webcasters have come to some agreement? I think their deadline was May 31.)
Filed by Derek Slater at 12:03 pm under General news
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