Record label representatives have been caught issuing DMCA takedown notices for Radiohead’s In Rainbows album despite apparently not having any legal standing to do so.
Radiohead released In Rainbows online in 2007 after severing their relationship with EMI. It was initially offered online, with downloaders allowed to choose their own price - even if they chose to pay nothing.
The DMCA’s takedown provision allows rights holders or their agents to have infringing content taken down by service providers. But the rights in question would have to be for digital distribution.
A few months after it’s initial online release, the band made a distribution deal with a RIAA member, ATO Records, which doesn’t seem to include any digital distribution (ie download) rights.
In fact it appears that Warner/Chappell Music, a publishing company owned by Warner Music Group, is contracted to be Radiohead’s representative in digital licensing. Although public details of the arrangement are somewhat vague, Last.fm lists the company as the label for In Rainbows.
A guick search of the Chilling Effects database shows that the RIAA has included the album in at least one DMCA takedown request.
Another takedown notice which includes the album comes from the RIAA’s international equivalent, IFPI, which ATO Records isn’t even affiliated with. Even stranger is the frequent listing of In Rainbows in takedown notices by a Brazilian anti piracy organization called Anti-Pirataria Cinema E Música (APCM).
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Result for: digital distribution
Hulu, one of the most popular online video streaming sites in the United States, had some bad news to note today, reporting that Viacom has pulled two of its most popular shows, “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report.”
“The Daily Show” is the third most-watched show on the site, and Colbert’s show usually ranks in the top 7.
Viacom does say that they will not be completely getting out of the streaming business, however.
Reads the press release:
Comedy Central has made “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” available to consumers through Hulu since June 2008. Although that agreement has concluded, full-length episodes of each show will remain available at TheDailyShow.com and ColbertNation.com, respectively.
Hulu was one of the many digital distribution partners we’ve worked with over the past few years to add new outlets for our valuable and powerful content and to help drive the businesses of our partners. We had a great experience with Hulu, and we hope to work with its team again in the future.
Hulu has around 44 million monthly visitors.
Result for: digital distribution
Get Games, the digital download site launched in November has announced that it has added 19 games this week, with 150 more expected in the upcoming weeks.
The site launched with little content outside of Serious Sam HD but now seems to be making some headway.
Popular titles Machinarium, Trine and EuFloria are available for £29.95 each and other titles are available for cheaper.
“Our goal is to work with people professionally and to run a nimble and efficient business which should result in a service that makes sense for the content owner as well as the retailer, a relationship which too often seems to be out of step in traditional retail and digital distribution at the moment,”says founder Rupert Loman.
