Satellite radio seen as recording industry threat
Broadcasting premium, commercial-free music is one thing, but making it easy to record and take anywhere? Well, that just may be too much for the recording industry to swallow. According to an RIAA spokesman, Sirius’s new S50 portable radio recorder and XM’s doppelganger “neXus” may be grounds for a law suit:
Illegal song trading has been blamed by the record industry for declines in sales, and labels have become increasingly aggressive in their legal battles to defend their product. Now that focus includes portable players.
“There are genuine issues here but it is our continuing hope that we can resolve this on a business to business basis,” said an RIAA spokesman.
Seems a bit unlikely. Fair use allows for the recording of broadcasts for personal use, so Sirius/XM don’t seem to be breaking any immediate laws. The notion of pirates using a Sirius subscription to rip sub-mp3 quality music off the airwaves and distribute it online is a bit far-fetched. I would guess that the s50 and neXus will be used mostly within the intent of their design- to let subscribers enjoy satellite radio anywhere and time-shift their favorite programs.
January 30th, 2006 at 2:47 pm
[...] If “audio flags” are pushed through the senate, it will become impossible to record and time shift satellite radio broadcasts. This will specifically effect the sue of portable devices like the Sirius S50. Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) President and CEO Gary Shapiro opposes the bill: “Instead of merely replicating the broadcast flag, RIAA apparently wants to severely limit consumer use of HD Radio and satellite radio services and new products coming to market,” said Shapiro. “More, they appear to want to stop Americans from recording free over-the-air radio in their private homes for later enjoyment, no matter what device they want to use to hear lawfully acquired music. [...]