Supreme Court denies cert in Arista Records v. Launch Media

ShareThis

exclusiverights.net

On Monday, the Supreme Court denied Sony BMG’s cert petition in Arista Records, LLC v. Launch Media, Inc., 2009 WL 2568733 (2d. Cir. 2009). If a person offers an “interactive service,” as defined in the Act, she must pay an individual licensing fee for musical selections and not just the compulsory license rate set by the Copyright Royalty Board. The general rationale behind the provision is to ensure that webcasters must individually clear songs if they offer an on-demand musical service, not just pay the compulsory royalty rate.

Launch Media provided an internet radio site that allowed users to create stations from their preferences, such as a genre, artist or song. Sony argued it was an interactive service, defined in the Act as a service “that enables a member of the publc to receive a transmission of a program specially ….