Aurous, the Popcorn Time of Music, Is Already Being Sued

Major music labels are suing the ad-free music streaming app Aurous just days after its launch, claiming that the software “blatantly infringes” copyright. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a lawsuit on behalf of labels including Sony, Warner Bros. and UMG, alleging that Aurous’ creators are “well aware of the copyright infringement caused by their service and willfully intend for it to happen.”

Aurous uses peer-to-peer BitTorrent technology to stream, not download, music, and has drawn comparisons with illegal video streaming app Popcorn Time for its familiar and polished user interface. The app’s developer, Andrew Sampson, claims that the software is completely legal as it uses public APIs to collate tracks from different sources including YouTube, Spotify and SoundCloud. The RIAA, however, says that Aurous’ catalog of music is sourced from pirating sites.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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