Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

RIAA signs webcast deal

18 Jul 2001, 12:00 am

An agreement has been reached between internet radio broadcaster MusicMatch and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in order to alleviate any threat of court action between the parties. The agreement reportedly involves a licensing deal allowing MusicMatch to broadcast music over the internet, although the actual terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Announcing the deal, CEO of MusicMatch Dennis Mudd commented:

"MusicMatch's agreement with the RIAA allows us to offer a uniquely compelling music experience to our users and provides fair compensation for artists and labels... This agreement ensures that MusicMatch Radio will continue to evolve as an exciting music discovery experience for consumers and a powerful promotional vehicle for the music industry."

The president and CEO of RIAA Hilary Rosen said:

"This license agreement confirms that the needs of on-line music lovers do not have to come at the expense of artists and copyright holders... Our license agreement with MusicMatch also shows that the business of music distribution on the internet is moving in a positive direction... "

MusicMatch Radio claims that it streams more than four million "aggregate tuning hours" of music programming to 828,000 unique listeners each month.