 RAIN 3/3: Licensing snags come at a cost to digital music; new iMeem mobile ·Mar 3, 11:03 AM PANELISTS AGREE LEGAL COMPLEXITIES HARMING DIGITAL MUSICIndustry news source Ars Technia summed up its coverage of two music licensing panels at the recent Digital Music Forum: East (and the current state of music licensing) thusly:
“Nearly everyone in the music business recognizes that the complexities of getting legal access to music was harming the business as a whole. But it was also obvious that there are people in the business that hope the licensing can change without any impact on their corner of the industry, and that everyone involved is still looking to get their cut from any new technology that While the article’s focus is on licensing for downloads and on-demand services, the thicket of arcane law and deeply-vested interest is mirrored in Internet radio music licensing. DiMA executive director Jon Potter could just as well have been speaking specifically about webcasting in his quote from a panel: “The fact that the law is driving the business is a problem. The fact that we’re sitting here saying the same things year after year is a problem.” Read Ars Technica here. NEW IMEEM MOBILE MORE ABOUT STREAMING, NOT SO MUCH FREE “ON-DEMAND”Apparently, because of terms of its license, iMeem can’t give users of its new mobile service free on-demand access to specific songs (as it does when you use iMeem from your desktop).
Last week iMeem unveiled the new iteration of its mobile service (here) for the Google Android platform. It includes the Internet radio-like service that users can customize according to musical taste, and a new feature that allows listeners streaming access to music they upload to an iMeem “locker.” But as the New York Times “Bits” blog reports, the free “pick-your-songs” feature at iMeem.com is not available on the mobile service. From the Times: “The labels see no need to permit people to allow that sort of service on cellphones. After all, many carriers are selling downloads to mobile phones for twice the price of the same tracks bought on a computer. And it’s much harder to get a pirated track free from a file sharing network while you are on the go.* Read more here. PERFORMANCE RIGHTS JUDICIARY HEARING WILL LIKELY BE POSTPONEDSources tell RAIN that the scheduled House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Performance Rights Act (see RAIN coverage here) will likely have to be rescheduled, as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is now scheduled to address a joint session of Congress at that time (Wednesday 10am ET).SIRIUS XM POSSIBLY DEVELOPING ITS OWN iPHONE APPOrbitcast, a online news source about satellite radio, reports on rumors of a Sirius XM-developed iPhone app. According to “sources close to Sirius XM Radio Inc.” the app is currently in beta, is a “separate effort” from an XM app reported in June, would stream actual Sirius XM broadcasts (not any special “mobile” service), and would be free (and free to use for Internet service subscribers). There’s no word yet on a release date. Yesterday, RAIN reported (here) that a third-party iPhone app, called the uSirius StarPlayr, had been indefinitely delayed. For more, read Obritcast’s coverage here.share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
comes along.” 
