MusicMatch pact doesn't end net feud

Future for Webcasters still unclear

By JUSTIN OPPELAAR

MusicMatch may have made peace with the recording industry in its portion of an ongoing, messy feud over the limits of Internet broadcasting, but the larger issue of what services Webcasters will be able to offer under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is still far from resolved.

The online radio company on Sunday announced a licensing deal with the Recording Industry Assn. of America that allows MusicMatch to Webcast music from the five major labels.

Pact, whose financial details were not disclosed, clears the way for the withdrawal of dueling lawsuits the company and the RIAA had filed against one another in an attempt to determine whether MusicMatch's services qualified for a compulsory license under the DMCA.

But the industry continues to pursue legal action against Webcasters MTVi.com and Xact Radio. And three of the five majors -- Sony, EMI and BMG -- are also suing Launch Media over its LaunchCast service (Universal dropped its portion of the action when it bought Launch last month for $12 million; Warner Music did not participate in the suit).

Same tune

An MTVi spokesman said the company was still in negotiations to settle its dispute with the music labels, but that MTVi's stance has not changed since the suit was filed. Xact Radio officials weren't available for comment. Launch recently said that negotiations with EMI, Sony and BMG are ongoing.

The disputes hinge on the level of personalization a Webcaster may offer in its services without running afoul of DMCA provisions that require "on demand" music services to negotiate licensing deals with each record label individually. The Webcasters say services that tailor their broadcasts based on user feedback should be allowed a compulsory license; the RIAA counters that such offerings tread too closely to true interactivity to be considered.

The current legal fracas was touched off when the RIAA asked the U.S. Copyright Office to exclude a number of Webcasting services (including that of MusicMatch) from being considered in an arbitration proceeding to determine who gets a compulsory license. The Digital Media Assn., which reps Webcasters, then asked a California court for a declaratory judgment on the definition of interactivity under the DMCA.