MP3tunes founder launches DAR.fm cross-platform radio recorder service

Michael Robertson is set to make waves in the music industry all over again with 'TiVo for radio' - complete with apps.

US entrepreneur Michael Robertson has unveiled his latest startup: DAR.fm.

He describes it as "an online service which records radio to play back on demand... like a TiVo for radio". Users can record radio shows to listen later on a range of devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7 and webOS smartphones.

"I'm calling this an "alpha" release meaning that it's mostly complete but don't be surprised if it breaks," Robertson explains in a blog post. DAR.fm is free, and covers talk and music radio.

"My hope is that DAR.fm modernizes radio by making it on demand, interactive and available on more than just your am/fm devices," he writes. The service could be controversial though: music rightsholders in particular may be none too keen on the idea of their music being timeshifted and streamed without any extra licensing payments.

However, Robertson claims DAR.fm is covered by a previous ruling in a legal battle between Cartoon Network and Cablevision, over a similar service for digital video. Robertson is currently engaged in a separate court case with major label EMI over his MP3tunes cloud locker service, which is expected to be ruled on in the coming months.