Remember the sad saga of PearLyrics — the iTunes helper app that acted like a specialized web browser, searching the internet for song lyrics while you play music in iTunes?
Walter Ritter, the Austrian tech researcher who coded it in his spare time for fun, received a forceful cease-and-desist letter in December from music publisher Warner/Chappell . They demanded he take the popular app offline, and cc'd Apple, insisting they also remove links to the software from apple.com.
It seems Warner/Chappell attorneys originally misunderstood just what PearLyrics does. It's a search tool, and it looks for content others have published on the internet. Ritter says he created it for noncommercial use. It was ad-free, and Ritter earned no money from its distribution. It's not one of those illicit lyrics websites with tons of popup ads — it does not publish copyrighted content without permission. If the music industry would get its act together and provide a "legal" version of what the unauthorized lyrics sites do, presumably PearLyrics would search those sanctioned sites, too.
After EFF attorney Fred Von Lohmann circulated an open letter criticizing the company's actions, Warner/Chappell issued a public apology.
But nothing's changed. Weeks later, PearLyrics is still offline.
Warner/Chappell did not return my repeated requests for comment this week, but Walter Ritter tells Boing Boing "There's still nothing new," and says he's still waiting for follow-up word from the office of chairman Richard Blackstone, as promised.
If everyone agrees that consumers have a right to search the web for lyrics (or other data) about songs they have legally obtained, and this helper tool isn't evil, why is PearLyrics still forced to remain offline?
An apology is nice, but actions speak louder than words.
Previously on Boing Boing:
Warner/Chappell Music apologizes to PearLyrics
EFF's open letter to Warner Music
Xeni on NPR: Warner/Chappell vs. Pearlyrics
Lyrics Dustup Ends in Apology
