Free for a Fee

ReelRadio, a radio-streaming site dedicated to historical “aircheck” demos, has come under fire from the Recording Industry Association of America, igniting a licensing squabble that places the site’s future in doubt.

Founded in 1996, the site (which still looks like it’s nearly 20 years old) streams “scoped” and “unscoped” announcer airchecks. On Wednesday, the site said it would suspend the streaming of unscoped content.

Scoped airchecks are edited and play an announcer’s voice with the music removed and are fair use to stream. The unscoped ones, which include the music, are at the center of the dispute between the RIAA and the site’s president, Richard Irwin. More than 1,147 “unscoped” airchecks are now unavailable following a copyright infringement and licensing flap with the recording studios.