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First Bytes: Muxtape, iPhone, Google...   Update: RIAA Says Muxtape Hosting "I...
Aug 19 2008 9:59AM EDT

Did The RIAA Just Kill Muxtape?

Sam Gustin asks: Or is this just a head fake?

Muxtape, the popular music sharing website, went down late Monday.

"Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA," read a cryptic message on the site, which allows users to upload MP3 music files and share them in the form of a playlist.

According to the site's blog, "No artists or labels have complained. The site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned." Muxtape founder Justin Oulette didn't return an email seeking comment and an RIAA spokesperson didn't have any info to share.

So what happened? As of late Monday, two theories circulating were that (1) the site had some technical trouble and its operators were yanking our collective chain, or (two) the entire episode is a publicity stunt.

It's worth noting that Muxtape's "problem" with the RIAA occurred on the same day tech blogs were abuzz with talk that web radio station Pandora may be doomed due to the onerous royalty payments it must fork over to the record labels.

I find both theories plausible...but not as plausible as the possibility that the RIAA finally decided enough was enough.

Muxtape has had a big fat target on its back for the last several months. Many experts believe that site resides in a copyright gray zone, at best, and is baldly illegal at worst.

In April, University of Santa Clara law professor Eric Goldman told News.com that as long as Muxtape remained under the radar, it it could probably avoid being hassled, but if it became popular, the recording industry would challenge it.

"There's no doubt that if it reaches a critical mass, the RIAA will intervene,"  Goldman said.

The RIAA may just have intervened.

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