no, it's not. That's a digest response. You need to redo the lookup as =yahoo.com to get their record:

#whois =yahoo.com

(scroll to bottom for yahoo.com listing)

Whois Server Version 2.0

Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net for detailed information.

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.ZZZZZZZ.GET.ONE.MILLION.DOLLARS.AT.WWW.UNIMUNDI.COM
   IP Address: 209.126.190.70
   Registrar: DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM
   Whois Server: whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com
   Referral URL: http://www.PublicDomainRegistry.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.ZZZZZZ.MORE.INFO.AT.WWW.BEYONDWHOIS.COM
   IP Address: 203.36.226.2
   Registrar: TUCOWS.COM CO.
   Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
   Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.ZZZZZ.GET.LAID.AT.WWW.SWINGINGCOMMUNITY.COM
   IP Address: 69.41.185.196
   Registrar: TUCOWS.COM CO.
   Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
   Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.ZOMBIED.AND.HACKED.BY.WWW.WEB-HACK.COM
   IP Address: 217.107.217.167
   Registrar: DOMAINCONTEXT, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.domaincontext.com
   Referral URL: http://www.domaincontext.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.VN
   Registrar: MELBOURNE IT, LTD. D/B/A INTERNET NAMES WORLDWIDE
   Whois Server: whois.melbourneit.com
   Referral URL: http://www.melbourneit.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.VIRGINCHASSIS.COM
   IP Address: 66.218.71.205
   Registrar: DOTSTER, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.dotster.com
   Referral URL: http://www.dotster.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.TWIXTEARS.COM
   IP Address: 66.218.71.205
   Registrar: DOTSTER, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.dotster.com
   Referral URL: http://www.dotster.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.TW
   Registrar: GODADDY.COM, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
   Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.SINGERPAT.COM
   IP Address: 98.136.43.32
   IP Address: 66.196.84.168
   Registrar: GODADDY.COM, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
   Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.SG
   Registrar: DOTSTER, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.dotster.com
   Referral URL: http://www.dotster.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.MX
   Registrar: DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM
   Whois Server: whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com
   Referral URL: http://www.PublicDomainRegistry.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.MORE.INFO.AT.WWW.BEYONDWHOIS.COM
   IP Address: 203.36.226.2
   Registrar: TUCOWS.COM CO.
   Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
   Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.JTNELECTRIC.COM
   IP Address: 66.218.71.205
   IP Address: 216.109.116.20
   Registrar: GODADDY.COM, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
   Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.IS.N0T.AS.1337.AS.SEARCH.GULLI.COM
   IP Address: 80.190.192.24
   Registrar: EPAG DOMAINSERVICES GMBH
   Whois Server: whois.enterprice.net
   Referral URL: http://www.enterprice.net

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.HK
   Registrar: ENOM, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.enom.com
   Referral URL: http://www.enom.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.ELPOV.COM
   IP Address: 66.21.71.205
   Registrar: FASTDOMAIN, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.fastdomain.com
   Referral URL: http://www.fastdomain.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.EATINGFORJOY.NET
   IP Address: 66.218.71.205
   Registrar: MYDOMAIN, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.dotster.com
   Referral URL: http://www.dotster.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.DUVALMANIA.COM
   IP Address: 98.136.43.32
   Registrar: GODADDY.COM, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
   Referral URL: http://registrar.godaddy.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.DALLARIVA.COM
   IP Address: 66.218.71.205
   Registrar: DOTSTER, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.dotster.com
   Referral URL: http://www.dotster.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.CN
   Registrar: BEIJING INNOVATIVE LINKAGE TECHNOLOGY LTD. DBA DNS.COM.CN
   Whois Server: whois.dns.com.cn
   Referral URL: http://www.dns.com.cn

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.CHRISIMAMURAPHOTOWORKS.COM
   IP Address: 66.218.71.205
   Registrar: TUCOWS.COM CO.
   Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
   Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.BR
   Registrar: ENOM, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.enom.com
   Referral URL: http://www.enom.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.BGPETERSON.COM
   IP Address: 66.218.71.205
   Registrar: DOTSTER, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.dotster.com
   Referral URL: http://www.dotster.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.AU
   Registrar: WILD WEST DOMAINS, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.wildwestdomains.com
   Referral URL: http://www.wildwestdomains.com

   Server Name: YAHOO.COM.ACCUTAXSERVICES.COM
   IP Address: 98.136.43.32
   IP Address: 66.196.84.168
   Registrar: WILD WEST DOMAINS, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.wildwestdomains.com
   Referral URL: http://www.wildwestdomains.com

   Domain Name: YAHOO.COM
   Registrar: MARKMONITOR INC.
   Whois Server: whois.markmonitor.com
   Referral URL: http://www.markmonitor.com
   Name Server: NS1.YAHOO.COM
   Name Server: NS2.YAHOO.COM
   Name Server: NS3.YAHOO.COM
   Name Server: NS4.YAHOO.COM
   Name Server: NS5.YAHOO.COM
   Status: clientDeleteProhibited
   Status: clientTransferProhibited
   Status: clientUpdateProhibited
   Status: serverDeleteProhibited
   Status: serverTransferProhibited
   Status: serverUpdateProhibited
   Updated Date: 30-nov-2011
   Creation Date: 18-jan-1995
   Expiration Date: 19-jan-2012

Thanks. Just very odd - hadn't ever seen a whois record that looked like that. :/

I like... One thing though... If your artists use samples from other licensed music, the RIAA will come after you personally.

* NOT LEGAL ADVICE * I see you have your domain info hidden using WhoisGuard. Good idea.

Better make sure that WhoisGuard won't give you up if they receive a demand letter from RIAA's lawyers. * NOT LEGAL ADVICE *

One last Q... If anyone can listen for free, how will you stop people from downloading what they listen to without paying?

Thanks for the feedback! That's a really interesting point, I hadn't considered that. I will have to be sure to add that to the artist contract.

To answer your second question, the music will be streaming, so in other words, I won't be able to prevent them from download. However: a.) the album will stream at 128kbps (vs 320kbps if you download), b.) the tracks wouldn't be separated (it would be one big awkward sound file with no metadata), c.) the download is extremely cheap to begin with, and d.) I'm trying to build a community of listeners that really want to support the artists.

Ok.. constructive criticism here... not trolling...

A) Not a class. Who writes non-oop PHP anymore? B) Globals. Seriously? What if I need 2 connections in a page load? This won't work. C) Use PDO.

I see the value of the exercise, and I applaude you for it, but PDO has TRILLIONS of sql queries under its belt.

You should use PDO.

One non-obvious benefit of PDO is that it lets you separate data from the query, making it much more secure to SQL injection attacks.

Also, as a rule, never put SQL in the page you're rendering... you want it in another class, away from your code so that you only have to write it once if it's used in numerous places.