Mercora adds Webcast recording

A new version of peer to peer radio service Mercora is available for download, with a new "time-shifting" feature that allows listeners to record Webcasts and listen to them later.

The software does allow you to search the network for specific songs and artists, but the new feature isn't quite the same thing as immediately downloading a song permanently to your hard drive. According to the company's Web site, the recorded content can't be transferred off the PC or shared with other people, and it will be automatically erased after a period of time.

The company says it is explicitly complying with the relevant copyright laws and court decisions. Still, this may well make record companies, who have tried to put up strict rules for on-demand Webcasting, nervous.