Music-sharing site Muxtape Inc. says it's temporarily pulled the plug on its service, prompting an immediate outcry from music fans who use its system to post songs in a streaming mixtape-like sequence. A message at Muxtape.com reads, "Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA," while a second message adds, "No artists or labels have complained. The site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned."
Muxtape, one of several brainchildren of designer Justin Ouellette, was launched March 25. Ouellette never responded to my inquiry concerning Muxtape's business plan, but it doesn't appear that the company is venture-backed. (Update: This report says Vimeo co-founder Jakob Lodwick, a former co-worker of Ouellette's, holds a stake.)
I've enjoyed listening to other people's Muxtapes, but I have to admit that the site's cheeky terms of service -- "if you upload a song, you acknowledge that we can do whatever we want with it," to paraphrase -- gave me pause, especially when I thought about putting one of my own recordings on a Muxtape. Since Ouellette hasn't explained the shutdown, it's not clear to what extent the RIAA might be threatening Muxtape or negotiating with it. But the fact that it's the second popular service this week (along with Pandora Media Inc., potentially making its "last stand") to acknowledge a struggle for survival suggests that the long-discussed "march of recorded music toward free" still breaks stride every once in awhile, as it cuts a path between legally acceptable services and outright piracy. As Muxtape says, stay tuned. - Paul Bonanos
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