Several major music publishers have filed a lawsuit against white label download provider MediaNet Digital claiming the company was delivering downloads for Yahoo, HMV, FYE and others without the proper licenses. Yesterday, MediaNet predictably fired back:
"This complaint is completely without merit, MediaNet and others were licensed by the NMPA to distribute musical works until a final publishing rate was established, and this remains the case. NMPA's suit and PR push is a transparent political move during the Copyright Royalty Board hearings to establish an industry-wide standard.
This is nonsense, and we look forward to the CRB reaching a final conclusion on rate standards."
Whatever its merits, the lawsuit comes at a critical time for MediaNet who is also facing the possible loss of its biggest customer Yahoo! to a Rhapsody or another competitor.
