Kodi Deezer
Despite the increased availability of legal options, millions of people still stream, rip, or download MP3s from unofficial sources.
These sites are a thorn in the side of the RIAA, which combats this in part by sending DMCA notices.
Since some sites are not responsive to these takedown requests, the music industry group also involves third-party services such as Google. In recent years, the RIAA has reported nearly 100 million ‘pirate’ links to the popular search engine, with no end in sight.
RIAA Finds Infirnging Music on Legitimate Streaming Services
The majority of these reported URLs relate to torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay or file-hosting platforms like Dbree. However, this week we spotted a new trend. In addition to classic pirate sites, the RIAA is reporting links on legal streaming services as well.
I exclusively use Kodi in my entertainment center to play back audio. It gives me the ability to control everything with my Logitech universal remote which is so much easier than the official desktop Deezer app and mouse. Ultimately it’s probably a deal killer for Deezer and me. I’ve posted on the KODI forums too.
This month alone, we have spotted multiple takedown notices on Lumen with URLs from Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Amazon and Tidal. According to the RIAA’s notices, these services all host infringing content.
While we initially assumed that the RIAA’s takedown filters were going haywire, there is more going on here.
For example, a few days ago the RIAA sent a takedown request to Google asking it to remove 50 Spotify URLs. According to the notice, these URLs infringe the copyright of Boza’s track ‘Hecha Pa’ Mi.’
Remixes, Karaoke, and Copies?
Possibly the most popular music add-on for Kodi is MP3 Streams. It has an easy to. Anyone know of a plugin for Deezer that will work with KODI? I found a plugin on github (from 2017), but it doesn’t work.
When we look at the URLs, these indeed all link to ‘Hecha Pa’ Mi’ tracks. Some are remixes or karaoke versions and others could have simply been copied. Interestingly, many of these are published by ‘verified‘ artists, including some with more than a million monthly listeners.
We don’t know whether these tracks are licensed, but the RIAA clearly doesn’t think so. This is not the only problem as the RIAA has identified many other problematic Spotify links over the past month too.
Some of the links point to podcasts, which have since been removed. However, there are plenty of other ‘infringing’ tracks as well.
Deezer, Amazon, Tidal and Apple Music
This issue isn’t limited to Spotify either. When we took a closer look at the RIAA’s recent takedown notices sent to Google, hundreds of links to legitimate streaming services popped up.
There are notices linking to ‘infringing’ music on Deezer for example. And the same applies to Tidal, Apple Music, Amazon. The list goes on and on.
We asked the RIAA to explain what the precise problem is with these URLs, but the organization did not respond to our request for comment. That leaves us no other option than to speculate.
Since the reported links don’t identify the official artists and tracks, we assume that there is indeed a copyright issue. Interestingly, however, Google has decided not to take any action, keeping these URLs in its search engine.
Why Ask Google to Take Action?
Microsoft essentials 64 bit. Google likely believes that these music streaming platforms are better equipped to determine whether the content is infringing. That would make sense indeed and it’s strange that Google is being involved.
After all, the RIAA’s members, which includes the major labels, should have pretty decent contacts at these streaming services. In fact, the labels are part owners of some of the streaming services. So why not reach out to these streaming platforms directly? Or perhaps the RIAA did both?
When we tried to load the “infringing” URLs on the streaming services, most now point to removed content. Others still show the problematic tracks but can no longer be played.
Whatever the RIAA’s motivation, it’s safe to say that copyright issues are not limited to pirate sites or platforms such as Google and Twitter. the RIAA is known to criticize the latter, but it looks like there are internal music industry challenges as well.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
In common with all music streaming services, French streaming giant Deezer played an important role in the fight against file-sharing and other forms of music piracy.
Millions of former pirates have left the high seas to join Deezer and rivals such as Spotify but for the past several years, Deezer has been trying to mitigate piracy of a different kind. With the assistance of third-party tools, it’s possible to download high-quality tracks from Deezer with minimal effort, without paying a penny.
Deezer’s Long History of Takedowns
Over the past five years, Deezer has targeted these pieces of software with DMCA takedown notices. Many have been filed against Github, requesting that the development platform removes tools such as Deezloader and severalsuccessors.
The company has mostly stuck to the same notice format, stating that third-party apps use “illegal methods” to download music. However, in a new notice filed against Github this week, the company goes into much more detail.
“Malicious” Tools Defeat Deezer’s Encryption
In common with earlier notices, Deezer highlights that downloading tracks from its service outside user licensing terms is forbidden. This time Deezer emphasizes that it has put in place “strong Digital Right Management tools” to protect musical content alongside “extremely high level encryption” to protect supporting systems.
According to the notice, the targeted tools (which include Deezloader, Deemix, Deezloader Reborn, Deezloader Remix, SMLoader and Deezer Grabber) circumvent Deezer’s systems to download copyrighted content and elements of its service. Specifically, the apps are illegally retrieving and then publishing Deezer’s secret encryption keys on Github.
“We have discovered that the following links make available Github repositories created to make available softwares which enable users to download the Deezer Content without any authorization,” the notice reads.
“To do so, these repositories are sharing the private encryption keys retrieved maliciously to bypass Deezer’s security measures to unlawfully download its music catalogue, directly from Deezer’s servers in total violation of our rights and those of our music licensors (phonographic producers, performing artists, songwriters and composers).”
At this point, Deezer drops in an important phrase that has become increasingly topical in recent times in respect of the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provisions.
“By creating and developing these projects, the developers have knowingly procured or offered to others, without our authorization, a mean especially dedicated to the circumvention of our effective technological measures, in order to allow unauthorized persons to directly download our phonograms and others producers’ phonograms out of our servers,” the notice adds.
Github Complies With All Takedown Requests
Github responded to the complaint by removing every repository and link listed in Deezer’s DMCA notice. While this isn’t a surprise, the platform’s actions stand in contrast to those taken in response to similar takedown notices filed by the RIAA against Youtube-dl, the well-known software tool that allows people to download content from YouTube.
In that case, Github reversed a decision to take down Youtube-dl and put $1 million into a fund to defend against wrongful takedowns.
Kodi Deezer App
The big difference here is that while there seem to be grounds for arguing that youtube-dl doesn’t circumvent a technical protection measure (TPM), the same cannot be argued for any of the projects that allow downloading from Deezer. They tend to use Deezer’s publicly available API but also exploit a flaw in Deezer’s encryption.
Kodi Dragon
In the past, developers have suggested it’s Deezer’s fault for not fixing the problem but as far as the law goes, having an encryption system that can be easily bypassed doesn’t negate its standing as an “effective technological measure”. As a result, it is extremely unlikely that Github will reconsider the takedowns on any grounds.
Kodi Deezer Apk
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.