XM Radio Settles with EMI Music

XM Satellite Radio has reached a settlement with music label EMI over the Pioneer Inno, an XM receiver that could record XM broadcasts.

XM Satellite Radio announced today that it has reached a settlement with EMI Music over the Pioneer Inno, which features the caopability to record up to 50 hours of XM programming. The suit, filed in mid-2006, alleged that the Inno’s recording feature amounted to “wholesale infringement” of the music label’s copyrights, since XM didn’t have a distribution agreement with the labels.

The settlement with EMI means XM has reached agreements with all four major music labels over the Inno: last February is settled with Sony BMG, and in December 2007 it reached agreements with Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.

XM Satellite Radio maintained that the capability to record broadcasts had well-established legal precedents, and it did not need a distribution agreement with the labels. XM competitor Sirius Satellite Radio had signed a distribution agreement with record labels, as had other digital streaming music providers like Rhapsody.

Terms of XM’s settlement with EMI were not disclosed. The original suit sought $150,000 for every song copied by XM customers to an Inno device.