Hypedmusic, which was an app that operated on the web, iOS as well as Android and offered free music streaming, has been shut down after a cease and desist from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Luke Li, who is 18 and the one who developed the app, had initially believed that because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), he would be safe, but this month the RIAA sent a cease and desist and he didn’t want to challenge them.

“I’m 18 years old, and I definitely do not want to get sued… Again, just to reiterate: I did not make HypedMusic with the intention of infringing copyright, I thought I was operating in a legal area after seeing different, large companies do similar things. Once I saw the RIAA’s email, I complied immediately,” he said in a blog post.

The app searched for music that was hosted by places like Youtube, Soundcloud and Tumblr, and because they were from sites that are protected by the DMCA, he thought he’d be safe. The RIAA didn’t feel the same way unfortunately.

“By indexing, linking to, transmitting, retransmitting, providing access to, and/or otherwise assisting users in streaming and downloading infringing copies of sound recordings emanating from various unauthorized sources on the Internet, these applications are violating U.S. copyright law,” the stated in an email sent to Li.

Right? Wrong? Feel free to judge the RIAA in the comments below!

[via GigaOM, image via .FuturePresent’s flickr]