Ten years ago, TiVo introduced the DVR. Some predicted the end of TV because people could fast-forward through commercials. Eventually cooler heads prevailed and the technology thrived — TV viewing is up 40% over the last decade, partly due to the DVR.
You'd think radio companies would welcome DVR technology. But Univision sent DAR.fm a cease and desist letter claiming that allowing people to record from their stations is copyright infringement.
In the Cartoon Network v Cablevision case, courts ruled that a centralized recording service did not require a license and was not copyright infringement. Cablevision now commercially offers this service. My hope is that radio companies look at the 10 year DVR experiment in TV and realize that DVR-like technology can help radio stay competitive. Perhaps it will take a legal battle. I'm prepared to fight it.
--MR
