OK. OP: I'm not trying to be rude... but the truth is that someone asks this question about 1x/week. No matter HOW you slice it, unless you've CREATED the song and haven't given ANY of the rights to another party (like a publisher, distributor, label, etc), it's ILLEGAL to post music, videos or other content you do not own on your site (regardless of how you intend it to be used). What you're really doing is called "publicly performing" the work. It's a specifically enumerated right under Title 17, Section 106 of the US Code (the Copyright Act). In other words, only the copyright holder has the ability to publicly perform the work. Of course, the holder can devise this right (sell it, license it, etc)... but unless they've done so to YOU, your posting it is illegal. So, now that we know you're infringing, the question is whether there's some sort of safe harbor or exception that would allow you to do what you're doing, even though what you're doing would normally be infringing. A few folks always want to mention "fair use", as that's the primary exception that allows most people to get away with otherwise infringing behavior. So let's cover that again, too. Fair use is a judge-made exception to general copyright restrictions. There are 4 parts to the test to determine whether your use is going to be considered "fair use". What is the character of the use? (Educational or social criticism type use weighs heavier towards fair use.) What is the nature of the work to be used? ("Creative works", like music, instead of a compilation of facts, tend to fall more outside of fair use.) How much of the work will you use? (The more you use, the less likely it's fair use. Here, you're talking about the entire song.) If this kind of use were widespread, what effect would it have on the marketplace? (Here's the so-called $64M question. If everyone gave away other people's music, what would happen to the music market. Well, we already know the answer to this. Overall, the courts have already ruled that online music sharing by anyone other than the copyright holder is going to be considered infringement and fall outside the fair use exception. So, no matter how you try to slice, dice or twist the situation to make it sound like you're not doing something illegal, you are. The next question is one of enforcement - how likely is it that the copyright holder is going to come after you. Well, for a few songs, the answer is "unlikely" (though that tide is turning). The issue for the copyright holder is one of cost. How costly is it to find infringers and make them pay. It used to be quite hard and quite expensive. Now it's getting cheaper. And the tools to find infringers are getting better all the time. The result is the RIAA and MPAA suing 80-year-olds and teenagers, because they really do have an open-and-shut case as far as the law is concerned today. It's a no-lose situation for them, as they're already losing marketshare... and frankly, if you're already "sharing" music, chances are, your personal boycott to not buy CD's because you don't like the tactics that the RIAA is taking aren't going to matter. So, once (and hopefully) for all, the answer is that sharing music online to music which you do not hold copyright to is ILLEGAL and can subject you to suits by the RIAA and the copyright holder. Statutory (ie: the amount listed in the law itself) damages these days are up to $200,000 PER COPY (take each song, multiply it by the number of copies made by sharing, add it up).
Very interesting discussion. Where do you all suppose a site stands for providing links and nothing else to streaming movies, sporting events, etc? On any given Sunday you can watch all NFL games, and find the links on hundreds of sites. Same with movies. Tons of blogs providing links to other sites they are uploaded to. Pretty gray area, I would think. Is this considered distribution? What is the first course of action by owners....sue out of the gate, or contact your server to have the content removed?
Indexing is illegal in some countries too, like USA and most. It is illegal to run such site if you dont have permission from artist
You are not allowed to have a streaming website, unless you don't have a license for all songs. Also, I think you must have the permission of the singer/band.
You should add a media disclaimer if you are streaming music files. Example: "All audio, video, pictures and other media formats that are posted on SITE NAME are for promotional use only and is not sold or resold in any way. The media is ONLY available in a stream-only format and no direct link for downloads are available. If you would like a song, video or any other content removed from our sites please send us an email to EMAIL. Email us with the URL or media clip artist & title, and reason for removal. Once the email is received and the reason for removal is verified, the media will be removed immediately."
Folks, I'm trying to be as plain as I can. Streaming, saving/posting, and sometimes even indexing are ALL violations. Disclaimers don't protect you from liability. Nor does ignorance (real or faked) of the law. I'm sorry that I'm raining on the parade, but this isn't just my opinion... it's the law. Violators (aka infringers) are easier than ever to find, and the penalties are real and quite severe. Post or link to infringing content at your peril.
Well... This discussion wont go anywhere because you people do not understand one simple thing: While RIAA has its money, everyone in this world is an illegal element and has to be erased. No one cares about the fact that mp3 is not the type of data which could be called as the music copy, since it has the dramatical loss. No one cares that DMCA says - demo quality records are out of the illegal distribution responsibility. Every word you speak, every note you sing - has to be prepaid. Jigordon said the right thing - you are all criminals by the fact you live. Want to be free? Move to Sealand )
For the record, I don't mind being quoted... but I didn't say that anyone was a criminal by the fact that someone was alive.
do what playlist.com is doing link to the mp3s --> perfectly legal just dont provide/encourage downloading links
its not legal, sorry, its kinda a no brainier. If linking to movies that are on youtube is illegal (which is just insane), then trust me, unless you got a really good legal team, its illegal. He is streaming them, thus being on his server, so its illegal everywhere besides Iran, (they have no copyrights) and some other offshore hosting companies. Your best bet, get an offshore hosting package and you are good to go, (yet you have the whois problem to solve )