Seeqpod To Be Sold, Saved From Bankruptcy

After getting repeatedly sued by major labels, music search engine Seeqpod filed for bankruptcy in early April 2009. But now CEO Kasian Franks says Seeqpod will avoid shutting down because a large company is going to buy it. He told Wired that Seeqpod is now in “final acquisition talks” with a partner that “is in the [same] position” as Apple, Google or Live Nation.

Seeqpod was supposed to be protected by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), which lets search engines link to any content, so long as they take down allegedly infringing links at the copyright holder’s request. But the recording industry seems to be oblivious to the Act, and has continued to pummel music search engines like Seeqpod, Muxtape and MP3Tunes with lawsuits.

Franks realizes that by having an owner with more “social capital”, it will be far easier to negotiate licensing deals with major labels and performing rights groups. He’s probably right. Like Seeqpod, search giant Google doesn’t host content, and has a much easier time dealing with music labels.

Seeqpod lets users search the internet using complex algorithms, searching out the desired song and streaming it for free. Franks considers that rather than being valuable by itself, “the value of a piece of art, or music, or content has to do with everything that surrounds it.” Perhaps he’s right, and if the free music trend is making the music industry lean towards revenue streams that aren’t based on direct sales, then maybe handy search engines, like Seeqpod, are the answer.

Who do you think is going to buy Seeqpod? Are search music engines wrongly persecuted?

Image via gawker.com
Source: Wired, Techcrunch