A story a few weeks ago announced the launch of a Spanish-based company, Puretunes, which began selling access to tens of thousands of songs on a subscription basis.  Because of recent developments, we thought it important to re-visit this story.

In light of ongoing litigation involving the exchange of online music, several companies have attempted to launch new subscription based services that provide access to music legally.  In addition to services that are closely aligned with the music industry, Apple's iTunes has been considered a success for Apple users who pony up a dollar a song.  It's been very profitable, albeit limited to just those who own Apple computers.

Puretunes launched its service in May, claiming it had reached an agreement with various Spanish performing rights societies to offer online users access to recordings, with subscription fees going, in part, to the artists in the form of royalties.  Subscriptions ranging from $3.99 for eight hours of unlimited downloading, so nearly $200 for a one-year unlimited subscription opened the door to users to fill their hard drives with tunes, feeling secure that their dollars were making it back to the individual artists, and operating within the law.

As I wrote several weeks ago, the service launched amid controversy over whether or not it actually was legal.  The company claimed it was, but various music industry trade organizations disputed that, claiming the company actually cut out record labels from receiving any money, and lacking any agreement with them, they were openly flouting international copyright laws.

After three weeks of operations, Puretunes web site suddenly closed down, its service terminated, and accessing anyone at the company proved impossible.  Unfortunately, this left paying customers with credit card charges and no service.  All attempts to reach company officials have failed.  The service's demise did not satisfy the record industry, however.  The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in association with several major record companies have filed a lawsuit against Puretunes' parent company, Sakfield Holding to the tune of $150,000 for every song illegally downloaded from the service.  The lawsuit does not seek damages from individual users.  In fact, RIAA's statements to the press indicate the lawsuit was filed, in part, to protect users who were allegedly defrauded by the service's apparent demise.

Some investigation into Puretunes has uncovered that the service had fewer ties to Spain than initially thought.  The company reportedly operated much of its business from the Toronto area, and allegedly maintained servers for customers near Washington, DC.  The business activities that occurred within the USA permitted the lawsuit to be heard in a U.S. court.

If you elected to become a customer of Puretunes and have outstanding credit card charges for the now defunct service, all is not lost.  Simply find the mailing address for your credit card's customer service department (typically on the back of the statement near the language that instructs you what to do if you find an error on your bill) and write a short letter to the credit card company indicating that the company charged your credit card and did not provide promised services to you, and all attempts to contact the company have failed.  Request a chargeback of the amount on your credit card.  Your credit card company must receive this notice in writing from you.  Within 30 days, the charge should be removed from your credit card.

If you experience problems resolving this with your credit card company, drop me a line for further advice.

Recent articles are available in our archive.