RIAA Issues Knock Muxtape Offline
The popular mix sharing site Muxtape has been taken offline so that administrators can "sort out a problem with the RIAA," according to a note that appears on the site.
"For the past several months, we have communicated concerns to Muxtape on behalf of our members," said an RIAA spokesman via email (6:28pm EST update). "Muxtape has not yet obtained authorization from our member companies to host or stream copies of their sound recordings."
One of our top ten favorite music websites, Muxtape's service keeps the mixtape concept alive by allowing anyone to post a mix of up to 12 songs that can be easily shared with a simple URL. Its interface (screenshot below) consists of artist and song titles presented in large fonts, with "buy" links under each song.
Muxtape fans can derive some hope from the fact that Muxtape's note predicts the outage will be only "for a brief period," but for now, mixes created on the site are unavailable and new mixes cannot be made.
In April, Muxtape founder Justin Oullette downplayed the idea that labels might be upset by the service. "Labels big and small have told me that they're excited about Muxtape as a model for discovery and ultimately selling music, and I think that's extremely keen," he told us via email. "Cassette mixtapes were such a great way to discover new music before the internet, and I think the lessons we learned from that era can be carried into this one."
However, the labels represented by the RIAA no
longer appear willing to give the site a free pass. When users upload songs to
Muxtape, they're technically infringing on the copyright holder's
exclusive right to make a copy of the song. And when Muxtape streams
the songs to other users, it's liable for streaming royalties.
Michael Robertson's old My.MP3.com service allowed users to stream the music they owned on CD only to themselves, and the RIAA shut that down. Muxtape, which does not require ownership of a CD in order to upload an MP3, and which allows users to listen to each others' mixes, could face a harsher reaction. However, it's conceivable that the RIAA has presented Muxtape with a list of stipulations with which they must comply, such as only allowing one song per artist to be uploaded or, in a extreme case, restricting all songs to 30 second samples.
See Also:
- Muxtape Keeps The Mixtape Concept Alive
- Interview: Justin Ouellette, The Man Behind Muxtape
- Muxtape Is Down, Small Percentage of Mixes Lost
- Muxtape Is Back Up - Stream Our Friday Mix
- MuxFind Lets You Search and Discover on Muxtape
- Favtape: Mixes Don't Get Any Faster Than This
- Listening Post's Top 10 Hottest Music Sites
Second screenshot courtesy of marklarson
The RIAA needs to go fly a kite. Even their high powered lawyers can't stop the revolution. They need to take a hard look at RadioHead and do some sole searching.
Madasheck: They need to take a hard look at RadioHead and do some sole searching.
Mmmmm immortal soul ...
Isn't there anyone out there strong enough to destroy teh RIAA and it's anti-American activities?
Even black hat activity would be welcome.
Has the RIAA never heard the phrase "cutting off your nose to spite your face"?
The thing to do is use Mixwit.com instead, much better in my view
I've spent a good $100 in the past two months buying music from bands I've found through Muxtape. The music press is dead for the most part, iTunes is very difficult to use for discovery, record stores are gone, radio has been rendered useless. Platforms like Muxtape are essential for good old fashioned discovery.
If the RIAA is smart, they'll partner with MuxTape to get paid with the buy now links. Of course the RIAA has never appeared to be smart.
@gb I definetly agree with you. I discover music though downloads (whatever form it takes, be it muxtape, radio.blog, plain downloads from blogs etc.) And i end up buying more music now than ever before.
The RIAA needs to understand that because we download doesn't mean a direct loss of sale. I would never buy 80% of the stuff i download. But at least i get to hear it and make an opinion and be aware of the band (so in the future i can relate to it) This download thing is free publicity. Just see the amount of bands out there, half of them would never make it past their doorsteps if it weren't from the people who downloaded their tracks then see their shows and talk about them and create a hype.
Again, the RIAA is killing the music industry's new ways. Better ways.
The music market is restructuring itself around the new realities. The RIAA tries, in vain, to protect a status quo that no longer exists. The tide of the market will eventually wash away any trace of their sand castle from the beach.
Wow... just wow. And I thought they were joking about that whole declaring standard radio a form of piracy, but this is yet another example of how the RIAA trying to justify their existence. I'm sorry, but how am I supposed to discover things that I want to buy if they keep taking them away from me? Honestly, we need to figure out away to collectively get rid of this organization. How did they get so much power? They are *killing* the music industry! They're even starting to crack down on things that were considered "legitimate" not more than two years ago. And I can see it now: Were not going to get a president next with family interests in oil, oh no: He's going to have special ties with the RIAA/MPAA gestapo. When do they start going door-to-door looking for functioning VCR's and tape recorders?
Whats funny, is that I will never buy music again. It's all on the internet. Free for the taking.
Pirating through HD radio will be the next great scam. 24/7 piracy...
The solution is simple. Start letter writing campaigns to your favorite artists and tell them to sell their music to you directly - they'll make more money that way. When more musicians sell direct, the RIAA will die.
Hm. I'd never heard of this service, but now that I have I'm sad to see it's down.
I don't think reducing the songs to 30 seconds would be bad (IF the user gets to choose which 30 seconds) - I usually know whether I like a given song in 5.
Also, "a extreme"? Really? It sounds like you have an editor position available - if not, you should. Where can I send my resume?
the RIAA is trying really hard to stay relevant to their constituents, who are not the consumers that trade, buy, steal, or listen to recorded music but those who distribute it through an old and broken system. the RIAA is protecting their associations immediate future, because no one can imagine an RIAA with any power in 3 years. smart artists know they don't need a record label anymore than they need a hole in their head. the RIAA will continue to stick swords in the corpse of the music 'industry.' once their constituents [record labels] finally asphyxiate on their own inflated importance no one will be around to send tribute to the RIAA and things will be as they should -- content distributed by the artists, value determined by the market and revenue gained through tactile methods. until they realize that their rationale is as draconian as their legal practices we'll lose a couple muxtapes and pandoras here and there but a million more totallyfuzzy's will be created.
You know, I just kind of said this in the Pandora thread, but here goes again:
It is vitally important that you all, as music consumers, let the artists and labels how these services are driving you to purchase their music.
RIAA/SoundExchange has already demonstrated that they don't give a shit unless it helps out the RIAA labels.
But all the artists and labels have been annoyingly silent in this fight, and the webcasting ones, and they need to rise up and tell RIAA/SoundExchange with some force that they're acting contrary to the interests of the very artists they pretend to represent.
Madasheck: They need to take a hard look at RadioHead and do some sole searching.
What's wrong with their current shoes that they need new soles?
But seriously, eff the RIAA.
Whackamole. RIAA is out of options, and can't fight the future forever.
**** **** *
The RIAA is trying to grab all the duck confit in the dining room of the Titanic.
* **** ****
That's terrible. Muxtape is a great way to introduce people to death metal, like:
http://deathmetal.muxtape.org/
Just wondering. IF ALL music is FREE how and why would bands make more. People act like its easy. The equipment need to actually mix WELL is very pricy and studio time is not cheap. Just wondering.
It is quite understandable to see what the RIAA is doing. Many executives have been living the good life and relaxing on their own private islands while their companies steal money from artists.
.
They are a dieing breed and artists seem to slowly be turning away from their record labels for options that pay the actual artist more.
.
The RIAA is like Grandpa trying to run the business. They are using tactics that worked 50 years ago. People no longer tolerate their tactics, from "exclusive" cd sales at Walmart to their slow internet adoption. The RIAA is an old cow and needs to be put out to the pasture to die.
.
All they can try and do is stop those who plan to wreck their lives. YOU PEOPLE ARE WRECKING THE LIVES OF THESE POOR EXECUTIVES! Their islands and several of their homes may be FORECLOSED!
I'm wondering how long it will take for the RIAA to finally outlive its usefulness. Before, music distribution was incredibly difficult, pricey, and a logistical nightmare. You needed record companies to distribute actual physical media to various retail outlets. A single band would find this impossible. Now a band can just simply take orders for merchandise, music, etc on their own websites. Radiohead showed us its entirely plausible to do this.
I wonder how the artists feel about having yet another service shut down so people can't find find out about them and drive their sales.
Let the record industry die already and let the artists choose what music they make, how it gets distributed, and what the price is.
I actually bought a few albums based on the songs that I listened to on MuxTape. The RIAA is simply a bad cop with nothing to do and no donut shops to scratch his ass at. This sucks and hurts sales.
As I see it, there are actually three problems:
1. Copyright law doesn't have the ability to handle mass licensing for "interactive" content like Muxtape (versus non-interactive like Pandora) and is outdated.
2. The RIAA is "cutting its nose off" using copyright law to attempt to force some revenue (which really doesn't work).
3. The companies developing new services don't innovate around the existing models, instead buck the law (and suffer the consequences).
There is lots o blame to go around. Maybe the answer is to actually develop a product that works with the existing law and benefits everyone.
Anyway, that's what we're working to do.... http://www.rvibe.com
Hahahahaha! Why don't people try creating their own music, rather than being "creative" my stealing/mixing someone else's?
Many of you try to mitigate your piracy by saying that executives rip off artists. Artists sign contracts and agree to that treatment, like it or not.
You however, have no such agreements with them to steal their work, and you are only serving to rip them off even more.
^^^ Anonymous misses the basic supply-and-demand lesson here.
^^^ uh... What does supply-and-demand have to do with the fact that the artists agree to whatever terms they get, and getting access to music that is not licensed to be free for free IS stealing?
Napster, Kazaa, Oink, Pandora and now Muxtape. Five examples of where the RIAA had a chance to 'get with the program' and work out a way that everyone could profit from the distribution of music over the internet.
Instead, once again, those money and power hungry old fuddy duddies running the show have opted to flex their (waning) finical might and cripple another innovative web start up.
When will we see their end ...
Love the site. Wish that they paid artists to stream content like other outlets for music. My guess is that Muxtape is toast now. They have always been cagey about the issue and now the slacker attitude about doing the right thing by working musicians is coming back to haunt them. Sad to see them go, but you gotta pay the piper, kids.
FUCK EM
RIAA kills the music industry new ways
... getting access to music that is not licensed to be free for free IS stealing?
Posted by: really? | Aug 19, 2008 2:55:33 PM
----------------------------------------------
Hey you obvious paid RIAA shill, stop confusing the issue! Tell us what was "stolen". The file is still there for others to enjoy, it's only been copied. The issue is copyright infringement, not theft. Idiots like you either don't understand that or want others to be confused by it.
Muxtape has a loyal fan and user base. Please help them come back by spreading the word about SaveMuxtape.com
EDITOR: Eliot Van Buskirk | 
web sites:
Sheesh...
To think I had just replied about the Pandora issue...and now this.
Muxtape is in a tricky situation here: they serve as a vector to display copyrighted material but they don't distribute it, nor do they incite to, but they still are full of it.
And yet another great service to be tossed to the garbage (I'm quite pessimistic concerning the outcome...who isn't?)