Project Playlist gets mixed reception from record labels

Social network MySpace pulled down all of the Project Playlist widgets reportedly at the behest of unspecified "major music companies." Meanwhile, major label Sony BMG gave the service its stamp of approval.

Last week, MySpace issued a statement announcing the immediate removal of Project Playlist widgets from its site. They have received complaints at several different times that Project Playlist was engaging in copyright infringement.

The RIAA has been at odds with Playlist.com since April, when it filed suit in US District Court in New York. The Recording Artists group attested that the "overwhelming majority" of the content accessible through Playlist.com is infringing in nature.

Similar to Pandora, Jango, and Last.fm, users come to Project Playlist, type in a song title or artist name, and then can listen to the items they searched for and assemble playlists accordingly.

It was noted by the media at the time of the suit that the group of nine plaintiffs did not include any Sony BMG Music Entertainment subsidiary labels.

It has now come out that this was because Sony BMG was in talks with Project Playlist about collaboration. The two companies have announced their content agreement, allowing the estimated 40 million Project Playlist users access to Sony BMG musical content across several sites: like Facebook, Orkut, and Hi5.