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It's pretty good - one of the better music index services I've used. Others here have commented on a few small issues but overall it seems well executed. Howev

It's pretty good - one of the better music index services I've used. Others here have commented on a few small issues but overall it seems well executed. However, is this really a viable business? I assume you intend it to be, based upon your description of it being a startup, but please correct me if I'm mistaken. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'm going to have to piss on your parade a little bit. I have considered developing something similar to this in the past, but I've always stopped myself - simply because if it becomes any sort of success and is seen to be either (i) taking in revenues or (ii) encouraging others to develop similar services then the RIAA will give the slightest of gestures.. a wince of the lip perhaps.. to direct a battalion of lawyers to march upon your place of business and annihilate it with a bombardment of 4,000lb bombs stuffed with subpoenas and the internal organs from children and puppies. Although many (including myself) argue that what you're doing is probably legal, it is not really open and shut - the RIAA would argue that you're encouraging and cooperating in the acts of copyright infringement. It's going to cost you a fortune to defend yourself.. and even if you manage to generate enough revenue to successfully defend yourself once, they will keep coming after you time and time again, from many different angles. If the CoS can sue the IRS into submitting to its demands for tax exemption then the RIAA can shut down your little operation. The law can be cruel if you can't afford it. If anybody else (with legal training) can enlighten me then I'd love to have my doubts assuaged.

lacker 18y ago
You could have made the same case to the founders of Youtube. If everyone listens to arguments like that, then the RIAA has already won.
- cstejerean 18y ago
  Luckily for the founders of YouTube they were bought by Google. And given the current fight with Viacom I don't know if I would ever want to be in a similar situation.
- BenS 18y ago
  I hear the example of youtube thrown out a lot, but I don't think it's a good comparison. YouTube had an incredibly useful function beyond sharing copyrighted material. It was also miles ahead of competing services (e.g. google video) in usability.
johnyzee 18y ago
Hopefully these initiatives will be the 'death by a 1000 cuts' of the RIAA.
- plaggypig 18y ago
  I think you're absolutely right, and eventually the RIAA will have to adapt to accommodate services like these. It's an inevitability. I'd like to see a single global licensing body with a harmonised and simplified model covering every component; record labels, publishers, performers, writers, download rights, artwork, etc. There could be ways for them to support small broadcasters - by providing access to a large catalogue of digital music, waiving fees in exchange for delivering ads, etc. From this we'd see some really innovative services bubbling up to the top. However, I still stand behind what I said - if you want to turn a service like mixturtle into a viable business then you have to play their game, which is very difficult. I know it makes me unpopular, but it's just a reality we have to live with (for now). I had discussions with PPL and MCPS-PRS here in the UK a long time ago - their model is pretty complex - and if I wanted to have users in other countries then I'd need to get licensed with their representative bodies too. Not to mention the issue of download rights and artwork - all that has to be negotiated directly with the copyright holders. I'd wanted to build an ad-based model, but in the end I couldn't see any alternative to subscriptions, so I gave up - I couldn't afford the £10,000 advance fee.

lacker 18y ago

You could have made the same case to the founders of Youtube. If everyone listens to arguments like that, then the RIAA has already won.

cstejerean 18y ago
Luckily for the founders of YouTube they were bought by Google. And given the current fight with Viacom I don't know if I would ever want to be in a similar situation.
BenS 18y ago
I hear the example of youtube thrown out a lot, but I don't think it's a good comparison. YouTube had an incredibly useful function beyond sharing copyrighted material. It was also miles ahead of competing services (e.g. google video) in usability.

johnyzee 18y ago

Hopefully these initiatives will be the 'death by a 1000 cuts' of the RIAA.

plaggypig 18y ago
I think you're absolutely right, and eventually the RIAA will have to adapt to accommodate services like these. It's an inevitability. I'd like to see a single global licensing body with a harmonised and simplified model covering every component; record labels, publishers, performers, writers, download rights, artwork, etc. There could be ways for them to support small broadcasters - by providing access to a large catalogue of digital music, waiving fees in exchange for delivering ads, etc. From this we'd see some really innovative services bubbling up to the top. However, I still stand behind what I said - if you want to turn a service like mixturtle into a viable business then you have to play their game, which is very difficult. I know it makes me unpopular, but it's just a reality we have to live with (for now). I had discussions with PPL and MCPS-PRS here in the UK a long time ago - their model is pretty complex - and if I wanted to have users in other countries then I'd need to get licensed with their representative bodies too. Not to mention the issue of download rights and artwork - all that has to be negotiated directly with the copyright holders. I'd wanted to build an ad-based model, but in the end I couldn't see any alternative to subscriptions, so I gave up - I couldn't afford the £10,000 advance fee.