Petteri Pyyny
25 May 2001 1:40
RIAA sued Launch Media yesterday on behalf of Sony, BMG, EMI and Universal because they think that Launch's existing licensing deal for its Launchcast streaming service doesn't allow the level of interactivity it currently offers.
Launchcast's users can rate songs they hear from the service and based on the ratings, songs are played more frequently, less frequently or not at all.
And yes, the problem is the level of interactivity -- Launch has all the licenses, all the "blankets", etc from RIAA, but service is just a little bit too intelligent. The missing one from "big five", Warner Music didn't file a suit because it has a separate licensing deal with Launch and that deals allows this level of interactivity.
Launchcast service was taken down and according to Launch they are negotiating with RIAA to find the solution for this issue.