The RIAA threatened Muxtape with a lawsuit closing them down recently. The side effects of throwing lawyers at problems are often not well understood. The RIAA has effectively destroyed a central service that they could have worked with thus creating a distributed network of user hosted alternatives. It looks like they merely cut off a hydras head… When will the RIAA learn that they need to work with users and inovaters not against them with legal threats. Opentape is a free, open-source package that lets you make and host your own mixed tapes on the web. Unlike Muxtape it does not automaticly provide easy links for users to buy content, in killing Muxtape they have made it harder for people to find new artist and purchase what they belive is good.
Opentape philosophy:
Sharing your musical tastes should be fun and easy. We believe there is no reason it has to end with the shutdown of a single site, so we’ve created a free tool to make this possible.
Check Opentape out for yourself:
Here is the first band that has used Opentape to distribute there musicFirst band using Opentape: Two Shots of Rye. Preview their new record Hooks on Tape here (via Opentape).
Links:
Arstechnica – Opentape Invites RIAA to Play Whack a Mole Post Muxtape
