Muxtape goes offline during fight with RIAA

An unspecified RIAA-related issue has caused playlist-streaming website Muxtape to go offline—temporarily. Coming just after web radio site Pandora announced it may shut down permanently because of high artist royalty fees, this Muxtape vs. the Recording Industry Association of America development is raising even more questions about the future of webcasting.

On Monday, Muxtape users found the site unavailable, replaced by a message saying, “Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA.” The site usually allows users to create playlists online and share them with others through streaming.

Although the outage is sudden and unexplained, Muxtape’s Tumblr claims it is not gone forever. “No artists or labels have complained,” the blog announced on Monday. “The site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned.”

Speculation abounds as to what the cause for the temporary shutdown could be. Muxtape thus far has not paid licensing fees for the music and has not required membership fees. The RIAA, charged with lobbying for the recording industry, may or may not be seeking compensation for the artists whose work is uploaded to the site.

Related links:
News: Pandora, web radio may fold due to high royalty fees
Muxtape.com
RIAA.com

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