MySpace Enlists Gracenote To Block Copyrighted Music
MySpace announced that it will use Gracenote audio identification filtering software to block copyrighted music hosted without permission on members’ pages. It will permanently delete the accounts of people who upload tunes a specified number of times.
MySpace will use the to identify audio recordings uploaded by its members. Once identified, copyrighted music uploaded without permission will be blocked. “MySpace is staunchly committed to protecting artists’ rights – whether those artists are on major labels or are independent acts,” said Chris DeWolfe, chief executive and co-founder of MySpace. “This is another important step we’re taking to ensure artists control the content they create.”
Gracenote’s audio identification technology is already used by Apple’s iTunes to identify songs imported from CD into the iTunes system. Gracenote last year purchased the audio identification technology developed by Phillips. It is the latest example of major new web businesses bringing their sites into line with copyright law. Almost immediately after Google agreed to purchase YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, the site deleted 30,000 videos at the request of a Japanese lobby group.
