{"id":79356,"date":"2024-09-27T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T09:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/?p=79356"},"modified":"2024-09-27T09:00:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T09:00:37","slug":"apple-removes-parasitic-streaming-app-musi-following-persistent-complaints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/?p=79356","title":{"rendered":"Apple Removes \u2018Parasitic\u2019 Streaming App \u2018Musi\u2019 Following Persistent Complaints"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"musiApp stores are littered with apps that promise free access to music, but only a few live up to expectations. Musi<\/a> is one of them.<\/p>\n

The music app first made headlines in 2016 when its founders, who were teenagers at the time, presented their brainchild in an episode of the Canadian edition of Dragons\u2019 Den.<\/p>\n

The software itself works relatively simply. Musi can stream music, sourced from YouTube, and allows users to create and share playlists. It essentially uses YouTube as a music library, without showing the video.<\/p>\n

Apple Removes Musi<\/h2>\n

While the app\u2019s millions of users seem satisfied with Musi, music industry groups are not happy at all. They argue that Musi is a \u2018parasitic\u2019 app that doesn\u2019t compensate creators or rightsholders. The app was previously removed from Google Play and, as we reported<\/a> a few weeks ago, IFPI and other music insiders were pressing Apple to remove it too. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"musi<\/center><\/p>\n

Those efforts paid off yesterday when Musi was wiped from the App Store. Apple users who previously installed the software can continue to use it, but it\u2019s no longer possible to install the app through the official store<\/a>. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s no official explanation from Apple about the reason for the takedown. Our inquiries to Apple weren\u2019t immediately returned, and the sender of the takedown request is unknown. However, information seen by TorrentFreak sheds more light the background leading up to it. <\/p>\n

Music Industry Pressure<\/h2>\n

The takedown didn\u2019t arrive out of the blue. Music industry group IFPI reported the Musi app to the App Store last summer. This triggered a legal back and forth, which also involved Musi\u2019s lawyer, who argued that the app was merely providing access to publicly available music, stressing that the app doesn\u2019t store any content on its servers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear whether Apple took any position in the dispute. We do know that the company, which typically has rigorous copyright standards, didn\u2019t remove Musi from the app store at the time. <\/p>\n

IFPI, however, was determined to have the app taken down. The group escalated the matter and called on other stakeholders<\/a> to complain to Apple. More complaints might help to convince Apple. <\/p>\n

YouTube<\/h2>\n

In recent months, Apple indeed received more complaints, including a recent takedown request from the National Music Publishers\u2019 Association (NMPA). Documentation seen by TorrentFreak further suggests that YouTube also got involved.<\/p>\n

YouTube\u2019s arguments in favor of takedown are unknown but, according to some, Musi circumvents YouTube\u2019s \u2018rolling cipher\u2019 measures, which violates the DMCA. In addition, the app goes against the company\u2019s terms of service. <\/p>\n

The involvement of YouTube would be significant. Thus far, the video platform hasn\u2019t taken any public action against \u201crolling cipher\u201d issues<\/a>. It\u2019s often music companies who use this argument, against stream ripping platforms, for example. <\/p>\n

Over the past year, music industry groups and various companies, who are a major revenue source for YouTube, repeatedly urged the company to get involved. Judging by the comments we\u2019ve seen, those efforts paid off.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Not Over Yet<\/h2>\n

This is one of the most significant App Store takedowns ever. With over 100 million downloads, Musi is one of the most popular apps around. <\/p>\n

At the time of writing, the official Musi website still links to the iOS download, which is no longer available. In replies on social media, Musi says that it\u2019s working on a potential comeback.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe app is currently unavailable while we address some comments relating to the App Store. We don\u2019t have an estimated time as to when it\u2019ll be back but rest assured this has our top attention!,\u201d Musi notes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"musi<\/center><\/p>\n

This is not the first time that Musi has been removed from the App Store. There\u2019s still a possibility that, with some changes, it will return. Similarly, sideloading remains an option, and the music app may choose to focus on that going forward. <\/p>\n

Who was behind this week\u2019s takedown is unknown, but music industry insiders aren\u2019t completely satisfied yet. There are talks about a potential lawsuit, which would likely take place in Canada, but that matter still being discussed. The hesitation likely stems from the fact that a lawsuit could potentially be lost, which would make matters worse, much worse. <\/p>\n

If Musi doesn\u2019t return to the App Store, it will be a major disappointment to millions of users. At the same time, it will be a massive blow to the app\u2019s creators, who have turned it into a multi-million dollar business in recent years. <\/p>\n

From: TF<\/a>, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.<\/p>\n

Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

App stores are littered with apps that promise free access to music, but only a few live up to expectations. Musi is one of them. The music app first made headlines in 2016 when its founders, who were teenagers at the time, presented their brainchild in an episode of the Canadian edition of Dragons\u2019 Den. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-torrent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/79357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}