Tom Taylor’s NOW newsletter tipped us to a small item in the L.A. Daily News, noting that ReelRadio is obtained pro bono legal assistance. In July we reported that ReelRadio, which streams vintage radio airchecks, received a copyright compliance notice from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which threatened the site’s survival.
“The RIAA has determined that our service fails to meet the requirements for ‘archived programs’, which must be at least five hours in duration and may not be made available for more than two weeks,” the site disclosed in July. “The service must also display the Title, Artist and Album of each featured song, but only while the recording is being performed.” ReelRadio’s short DJ clips cannot comply with those requirements, according to the site.
One issue from the RIAA’s perspective is whether the airchecks are “unscoped” (they include music) or “scoped” (music is mostly cut out). ReelRadio has both types.
The L.A. Daily News reports that the law firm of King & Spalding has agreed to provide no-charge legal assistance to ReelRadio.