RIAA Presses Muxtape's Stop Button

If you're a keen user of the nostalgic Muxtape service then you may already know that the very large finger of the RIAA has pressed it's stop button for the time being. Muxtape enables users to create a virtual custom mix-tape that can be shared with others who can listen to it via streaming audio. At present, visitors to the Muxtape website will see the image of a cassette tape with a short message that reads: "Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA".

The fact that users can upload music, and create playlists that are available to others via streaming audio has raised concerns with the RIAA. It is the unauthorized hosting and delivery of this music that has caused the shutdown due to copyright violation.

Streaming audio is rapidly gaining in popularity through the use of streaming services, and Internet radio in particular. The danger for the music industry with this latest development is that music discovery sources such as Muxtape could be muted, resulting in less promotion for music artists and a decrease in music purchases.

I've always thought that analog tapes were unreliable, but on this occasion it's the RIAA that has chewed one up!