America's XM Satellite Radio has stopped selling its popular PCR receiver which lets you listen to their services via a PC. It seems XM's decision is in response to fears that music fans were starting to record their broadcasts on their computers, and then ripping individual tracks to share on P2P networks.
Insiders say the radio station is most concerned by a piece of software called Time Trax which is sold for $30 a time by a Toronto company called Nerosoft. This makes converting XM broadcasts into individual WAV or MP3 song files an easy process. Word is XM's lawyers have asked Nerosoft to stop selling the software.
The Recording Industry Association of America yesterday said it had not been involved in XM's decision to restrict its PC broadcasts but they said they welcomed the broadcaster's move and recognised the risks. The Association's Steven Marks told reporters: "What we're concerned about are [computer] programs that essentially transform what are intended to be performances of music into a music library for somebody". The RIAA has already begun lobbying US media regulator the FCC to make it compulsory for digital radio stations to encrypt their output.