Palo Alto, Calif. – The major record labels are variously
insisting that cloud-based digital music locker services only authorize songs
that come with digital receipts from approved online retailers, and that
providers place restrictions on the sharing of locker access, and the number of
times songs may be downloaded from the cloud, according to a post on TechCrunch authored by
Michael Robertson, founder of digital locker service MP3tunes.
With MP3tunes, which is still being sued for copyright infringement by major
label EMI, Robertson has been privy to the labels’ many concerns about locker
services.
He says Universal Music Group and Sony Music want to ensure that
digital receipts accompany songs uploaded to locker services — in a bid to
prevent "laundering" of songs downloaded for free from file-sharing services,
or from CDs potentially not purchased by a locker owner.
Sony Music also
reportedly wants to restrict consumers’ downloading of their songs from the
cloud to a single instance, in case a song is lost.
Robertson says Warner Music
wants to ensure that consumers aren’t able to set up multiple lockers and share
access with friends, and has suggested that lockers be tied to a specific
credit card or similar verified identity.
Robertson also claims the labels are
demanding an annual minimum per user fee for cloud services.
"The above
list of demands is by no means complete but rather an illustration of the
labels mindset," Robertson wrote. "There are others issues dealing
with simultaneous user access, family accounts, mobile access, local caching,
regional restrictions and more."
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3v3y89j
(TechCrunch)
