“Today’s judgement confirms what we have long known to be true: that TuneIn is unlawfully redistributing and commercializing links to unlicensed music on a widespread scale,” a representative from Sony Music Entertainment said. A Warner spokesperson also released a statement, hoping that TuneIn would “operate on a fully licensed basis and fairly pay rights holders for the music that it’s using to generate revenue” as a result of the ruling.
The UK court did have a determination in favor of TuneIn. The platform will be able to continue providing UK listeners with music radio stations that are licensed for that region.
“While we continue to evaluate the ruling and consider all options, including appeal, we believe the judgment will have very little impact on the company’s revenue and ongoing growth strategies,” TuneIn CEO Juliette Morris said. “We won on the most important element of the case, which was the right to provide U.K. users with access to U.K.-authorized radio stations. TuneIn is committed to complying with all applicable laws in the countries we serve and will continue to defend the right to operate a directory service providing listeners access to content freely available on the Internet.”