Intuitive tech listens to and blocks illegal music

Technology that can listen to and identify songs, blocking peer-to-peer trading, is generating interest among US legislators

A new political battle is brewing over net music swapping, focusing on a company that claims to be able to automatically identify copyrighted songs on networks like Kazaa and block illegal downloads.

Audible Magic has been making the rounds of Washington, DC, legislative and regulatory offices for the last month, showing off technology that it says can sit inside peer-to-peer software and automatically stop swaps of copyrighted music from artists such as Britney Spears or Outkast.

The company's technology is still being tested and could yet prove unworkable. But limited demonstrations have already turned some heads in legislative offices.

One senior congressional staffer who had seen the demonstration and requested anonymity said: "It is definitely something that is interesting to people on [Capitol] Hill. We are open to all kinds of different solutions at this point. Having the technological ability to do this certainly opens up some opportunities."

Audible Magic has predictably become a protege of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which has helped the company gain entry to official Washington circles. The group says Audible Magic's technology, or something like it, should be adopted by file-swapping companies if they are serious about not supporting widespread copyright infringement.

John Borland writes for News.com