BlueBeat Music is an Internet music service that features unique sound-alike recordings of previously recorded musical works called “Psycho-Acoustic Simulations.”
Background
BlueBeat Music, then called Music Public Broadcasting, launched in 2003. At the time, founder and CEO Hank Risan said that BlueBeat’s song catalog would cover the “full gamut of musical tastes, from 15th CenturyRenaissance music and ragtime to today’s pop idols.” The BlueBeat website currently claims to offer more than 2.2 million tracks.
BlueBeat uses proprietary and patent-pending technology to create sound-alike recordings of previously recorded musical works, called “Psycho-Acoustic Simulations,” based on psychoacoustics, a branch of science that studies the psychological and physiological responses associated with sound. In a 2009 interview, Risan said the Psycho-Acoustic Simulations are "akin to songs performed by 'cover' bands." To create Psycho-Acoustic Simulations, BlueBeat sound engineers analyze and deconstruct original sound recordings into their component parts, create compositional scores based on the deconstructions, synthesize replacement sounds, and fix the sounds in a virtual3-D sound stage in MP3 format.
BlueBeat licensing
To lawfully create, broadcast, and distribute the simulations, BlueBeat obtained composition licenses from Harry Fox, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., and SESAC. BlueBeat also has commercial webcasting licenses and pays artist royalties through SoundExchange. To protect the simulations, BlueBeat Music licensed the to monetize and secure its content.
In November 2009 BlueBeat sparked a copyright controversy when it offered simulated songs for $0.25 per download, including, for the first time, Beatles songs. London-based EMI Group Ltd. filed suit, accusing BlueBeat of violating copyright law by offering the Beatles’ entire catalog without EMI’s permission. A spokesperson for EMI said the company had "not authorized content to be sold or made available on Bluebeat.com." In court filings, BlueBeat asserted that it legally licensed the Beatles simulations and was paying royalties due. BlueBeat further claimed that it lawfully simulated the Beatles songs under the sound-alike provision of ." After listening to the BlueBeat simulations, Federal Judge John F. Walter issued a temporary restraining order against BlueBeat.com to stop selling the Beatles song simulations online, opining that differences in the sound recordings were not discernible. BlueBeat agreed to stop selling the Beatles simulations until the U.S. Copyright Office issues a registration for the simulations, and settled the EMI lawsuit with no admission of liability for $950,000.
