Universal settles out of court with XM in free music debacle
A long-running dispute between Universal and XM over XM’s digital music player and recorder has finally been settled out of court. It is sometimes understandable why record labels go after companies offering dubious free music, but this one really pushed it.
XM’s Pioneer Inno portable music player allows user to record songs onto the device for use at another time. Universal argued that XM’s licensing agreement the recording or reproduction of copyrighted material, much like a cassette recorder, CD burner or software like Cool Edit.
The player gives users the ability to get free music by recording songs, but Universal was having none of it. What’s next? Cases against all devices that can record sound? Sometimes record labels go too far in their bid to eliminate people getting free music.
Universal and XM have now agreed to offer “a new and exciting opportunity for music lovers around the world to discover and enjoy our content”. The details of the settlement have not been made available to the public yet. Chances are, you’ll still be able to record free music, but Universal will somehow get its cut too.
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