Haven't had a chance yet to read the full opinion yet, but the bottom line of this important ruling from the S.D.N.Y. is that a "download" of a file embodying a particular song is not a "public performance" of that song under the copyright act. This means that no royalty is due to the artist (or the artist's performing rights organization, like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC) when the song is downloaded. I'll update once I've read through it.
A download is not a "performance"
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