RIAA: Google Refused to Remove MP3 Download App
Google has refused requests to remove MP3 Music Download Pro, an extremely popular Android app which allows users to download copyrighted music onto their phones, according to the RIAA. — The app, which PCMag.com highlighted Thursday …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google removed Grooveshark from Android Market back in April 2011, establishing that it would act as copyright gatekeeper when pressed. Now the RIAA says it has sent takedown requests over MP3 Music Download Pro — a claim Google disputes — testing whether that gatekeeping applies consistently.
The timing matters because Google is reportedly planning its own MP3 store, after an earlier attempt stalled because it could not sign all of the major labels. A storefront bid that depends on label goodwill sits awkwardly next to a refusal to pull one of Android Market's most popular piracy apps.
First-order effects
- RIAA's confirmed takedown requests force Google to either remove MP3 Music Download Pro or defend keeping it, while publicly disputing the characterization that it refused.
- Android Market's enforcement record becomes evidence in the label negotiations: labels can point to the app's survival as proof Google polices its store selectively.
Second-order effects
- If Google keeps the app while courting labels for its MP3 store, rivals like Apple and Amazon gain a talking point that Android's catalog is tainted by piracy-friendly distribution.
- Other rights holders can cite the RIAA's experience to argue that notice-and-takedown against app stores needs teeth beyond polite requests, raising pressure on Google's review process.
Third-order effects
- App stores are hardening into the de facto enforcement chokepoint for recorded music, with platforms' own licensing ambitions determining how aggressively they police third-party apps.
- The episode feeds the broader fight over intermediary liability: whether storefront operators owe rights holders proactive filtering or only respond to formal notices remains unsettled.
The trend: As device makers build their own licensed music services, their app stores are being pushed to double as copyright enforcement layers, with enforcement consistency becoming a bargaining chip in label negotiations.