Muxtape Down Due To RIAA, No One Surprised
Surprising no one with even a passing knowledge of the RIAA's past actions, Muxtape, the popular online mixtape site has shut down due to issues with the RIAA.
In what could win the award for most understated way of saying "we might be screwed," Muxtape's site is offline, showing merely this message:
Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA.
"Brief period" being code for "perhaps indefinitely," and "problem" code for "copyright infringement."
Short of paying royalties for every single track played on Muxtape, I don't think the RIAA will back off with their threats of fire and lawsuits. Add to that the recent doubling of royalty rates for online radio stations (which might cause even the mighty Pandora to shut down), and I see a bleak future ahead for the little mixtape site that could.
We'll bring you word if the site comes back up, but don't hold your breath.
Front Page [Muxtape]
Den Den Boy
Posted to Hot Stuff, In the News, On Your Desk on 19 August 2008
· Comments (1)
Other stuff like this: copyright, music, Muxtape, online radio, RIAA
3D iPhone glasses. Why?
When will the RIAA learn that this is not the way... It seems truly bizarre that they continue these tactics, driving both artists and consumers to seek new avenues of distribution that circumvent the RIAA and record labels entirely. And it's not like you need to be a Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails to pull something like this off—indie labels and artist collectives are now starting to successfully do the same sorts of things.
Artists make more, consumers pay less. The only ones who are out of luck are the RIAA.