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The Recording Industry Association of America filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging that XM Satellite Radio’s recently-launched “Inno” handheld receiver - which stores up to 50 hours of downloaded music - is in violation of federal copyright laws because it allows users to save and label songs, writes Radio Ink.
The lawsuit would require XM to pay $150,000 in damages for each song copied by its customers using the receivers, which could add up quickly as the company has said that it plays nearly 160,000 different songs each month.
XM argued that the device is similar to a videocassette recorder, and noted that songs stored on the receiver from its broadcasts cannot be copied and last only as long as a customer subscribes to XM’s service.
In a statement, XM said, “These are legal devices that allow consumers to listen to and record radio just as the law has allowed for decades. The music labels are trying to stifle innovation, limit consumer choice and roll back consumers’ rights to record content for their personal use.” The company continued, “XM will vigorously defend this lawsuit on behalf of consumers.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently reviewing legislation that could support the RIAA’s argument.
By the end of 2008, revenue growth in the radio industry is expected to have fallen 7%, the second year of negative growth for the medium, according to estimates in a report from from BIA Advisory Services, writes MarketingCharts.
BIA estimates that…
Next in the long list of companies cutting jobs comes Tribune Co., which is slicing positions at The Chicago Tribune.
About 12 employees at the Trib were given the rest of the week to clean out their desks; more cuts…
Target is one of the first brands to create an iPhone application. The Target “gift globe” allows iPhone users to shake their phones to launch a snow-fall effect.
When the snow clears, a gift idea from Target is revealed. Users…
NBCU is launching its latest round of layoffs, with up to 500 jobs, or 3% of its work force, expected to be cut.
NBC News bureaus in Dallas and Los Angeles will be affected, writes TV Newser. L.A. correspondent John Larson,…
A Specific Media study finds the presence of display advertising significantly affects click-through and search style across both paid and organic searches.
In the “travel and tourism” category, display advertising engendered a 274% lift on both paid and organic search.…
Today’s Wall Street Journal is running a cover wrap for Dell. The ad covers a third of the front page and all of the back.
Though the New York Post and the Daily News commonly use cover wraps, the move…
