Yahoo will launch a subscription version of their web radio station Launchcast. With Launchcast Plus, listeners will be able to listen without ads in return for a $4 a month subscription. The move follows the settlement between Yahoo and Sony Music – the second of five lawsuits the company is facing from the major labels.
The legal action began a month before Yahoo acquired the radio service back in 2001. Launchcast’s original owners argued their operations were covered by the 1998 DCMA act which basically said webcasters could continue to broadcast any music without being accused of infringement while some sort of industry-wide copyright agreement was worked out between webcasters and labels (that agreement came last year). But the labels argued the interactive nature of Launchcast (listeners can programme their own playlists) meant they weren’t covered by the general agreement – they were more of a download service that a web radio station.
Yahoo has accepted they need to ink deals with each record label separately to include their music on their playlists. The latest deal with Sony follows an agreement with Universal last year, and will include a retrospective payment and a deal for including Sony’s rosters on their playlists in the future. The company now needs to come to a deal with EMI, BMG and Jive (the last two might be now covered by one deal), who were all part of the original lawsuit.
Talking about the new subscription service Yahoo! VP/GM David Goldberg said: “Launchcast Plus sets the standard for subscription internet radio by expanding on the excellence of LAUNCHcast. Yahoo! is committed to providing consumers with innovative and dependable premium services. With Launchcast Plus, users now have another great option to listen to music.”