Warner Music Slaps Songbeat With Lawsuit
Summary
Songbeat essentially allows you to scour the web for MP3s using integrated search for Seeqpod, Project Playlist, SpoolFM, iASK and more, stream tracks and even download them. So far, Warner Music is the only one who has made a move by enacting a restraining order against Songbeat in agreement with the BVMI (the Association of German Music industry who has all major labels amongst its members), but because of a protective letter filed in all major courts in Germany the restraining order did not go through. The first hearing in the case will take place next week on Wednesday in a Hamburg court, and the general expectation is that more music labels will join in for what BVMI intends to put forward as an “example lawsuit”. Philip Eggersgluess, founder and CEO of Songbeat, is confident about the case and claims the service is perfectly legal in Germany. TechCrunch has written quite a bit about the highs and lows of online music distribution and sales, and how the industry is responding to the changes that will inevitably continue to turn their business model upside down.