Muxtape down, RIAA blamed, users weep
Popular digital mixtape-making service Muxtape has been shut down by the RIAA. A pity, because the service was one of the best music resources online, and a big favourite here at Tech Digest.
The site currently offers just a picture of a cassette with the optimistic caption “Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA.” The RIAA are notorious for spoiling everyone’s fun shutting down sources of copyright infringement online, but Muxtape is notable because it’s a digital recreation of something that has always been illegal. Mixtaping was file-sharing and peer-to-peer before either of those words came into common usage. But it never should have been – making custom mixtapes for friends has a long tradition of exposing people to new music they might not otherwise have known, increasing album sales and music fans in the long term.
The RIAA are likely shutting it down because it features major label content and isn’t providing them with any direct revenue. Never mind that people who get a mixtape with a song they like might then go and buy the album. Never mind that it furthers hatred for the RIAA among their customers and even their artists. Never mind that a far better solution would be to just get Muxtape to hand over a chunk of advertising revenue, as well as a chart showing which songs get shared the most, and then distribute the revenue accordingly.
No, the RIAA are, once again, being short-sighted and overly protective of the content they are responsible for, while driving substantial future sources of revenue into the ground. Along with Pandora’s CEO declaring the other day that they might not be able to continue providing their free music radio service due to royalties they have to pay, it seems that digital music is back on a downward limb once again.
Muxtape (via Mashable)
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One thought on “Muxtape down, RIAA blamed, users weep”
Well said! It’s thanks to mix tapes and illegal shared music that many bands and new music comes out. If RIAA dosen’t understand that, they just plain stupid.
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