Universal's MP3.com Clone Loses in Court

erc writes: "According to this article, Universal Music Group's Farmclub.com online music service streamed songs without obtaining licenses from music publishers. According to the Court, Universal must obtain separate licenses for songs it wants to distribute over the net. Turn about, fair play!" Well, the courts are fairly consistent - if you don't have licenses from everyone and their brother, you can't play music online.

Comments

On MP3 streaming...

[bacchusrx]

MP3 streaming isn't so controversial, really. In fact, it's not very difficult--nor very expensive--to get the appropriate licenses to broadcast music (legally) on the Internet.

The problem lies in the fine line between distribution and broadcast. When you distribute an MP3 online, you run the risk of violating the distributor's copyright to the actual CD medium. So, if that MP3 happens to be of a song by Metallica, and you don't have permission from the recording company, or its agent, you've violated copyright law for duplicating the CD (or a portion of it).

On the other hand, when you stream an MP3 online, you're broadcasting it. Broadcast isn't distribution, it's public performance. Public performance rights belong to the songwriters. If you broadcast that Metallica MP3 without permission from artist, or from one of the appropriate songwriter's associations, you've violated copyright law.

Thankfully, getting permission from the songwriter's associations--that's ASCAP, BMI and SESAC--is a piece of cake. The licensing rate depends on a number of factors -- available here, here and here -- but for the most part, for small internet broadcasters the fees are minimal. ASCAP charges about $250 a year to start... BMI is more expensive, SESAC is considerably less (something like $50 or $75 annually.)

The United States has additional rules for online broadcasters that don't apply to airwave broadcasters. For instance, you can't provide music on-demand... you can't announce your playlist in advance... and you can't play too many songs from the same artist/album in a row. Nor can your playlist repeat predictably or too frequently.

Other countries have less restrictive rules.

Where things get messy is where you start to provide audio on-demand, or whenever audio is made available for download. In those cases, distribution rights apply as well as (or instead of) public performance rights...

BRx.