Online music distributors: song licensing a painful and expensive process

Vikingod · Sep 20, 2007, 02:09 PM

Source: Ars Technica
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At a breakout session for the Future of Music Policy Summit in DC this week, online music distributors complained that licensing music for digital retail is still far too complicated, and blamed this complication for the paucity of online distribution outside of the US market.

Speaking for the Digital Media Association (DiMA), which represents Napster, Youtube, Rhapsody, iTunes, and a number of other services, Jonathan Potter told the panel audience that lawyers and licensing issues are enormous financial drags on his association's member companies. Finding the owners for the song publication rights for a given song is extremely difficult, he said, and the $150,000 possible penalty for infringement makes any mistake extremely costly. "That's not a problem if you're AllOfMP3.com," he joked.

Sep 20, 2007, 02:09 PM	#1
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	Online music distributors: song licensing a painful and expensive process Source: Ars Technica ___________ At a breakout session for the Future of Music Policy Summit in DC this week, online music distributors complained that licensing music for digital retail is still far too complicated, and blamed this complication for the paucity of online distribution outside of the US market. Speaking for the Digital Media Association (DiMA), which represents Napster, Youtube, Rhapsody, iTunes, and a number of other services, Jonathan Potter told the panel audience that lawyers and licensing issues are enormous financial drags on his association's member companies. Finding the owners for the song publication rights for a given song is extremely difficult, he said, and the $150,000 possible penalty for infringement makes any mistake extremely costly. "That's not a problem if you're AllOfMP3.com," he joked.