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As a user, I love anywhere.fm but as an investor, I'd have a qestion about its legality because of the UMG vs MP3.com case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMG_v._MP3.com Have you guys looked into that? Seems to me that these two services are almost identical and anywhere.fm has an excellent frontend.

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Excellent question! The most precise case to follow is the MyPlay case. In fact, the ex-ceo of MP3.com created a startup, similar to ours, that is protected under the results of the MyPlay case, which showed that digital locker services are kosher. In fact a quick google search shows you this space has many competitors :).

What's the logic behind this precedent? Isn't it functionally equivalent to what mp3.com offered?

Logic? US courts? Does not compute.

:)

Is it because the media files come from consumers who've already ripped their media into mp3s and upload the songs themselves?

MP3.com bought a bunch of CDs and went to town ripping them, sans license arrangements with the studios.

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