Recording industry announces new one-stop-shop for webcast licensing

LONDON, Tuesday 11 November

The recording industry today announces a new international agreement that will allow internet webcasters to stream music programmes to consumers on the basis of a single "one-stop" licence.

The agreement will allow webcasters to clear record producers' rights in a multitude of countries by entering into a licence in one participating country. It will come into force as it is signed by national collecting societies over the next few weeks.

The accord significantly simplifies licensing for webcasters, who up until now have needed separate producer licenses from different national licensing entities.

Webcasting - the stream of music programmes on the internet - is just one of the new forms of online music distribution that the music industry is now promoting as it develops new business models and revenue streams for the online environment.

Webcasting is already well-established in the USA, where there are currently 1250 licensed services.

The new agreement will in particular boost webcasting outside the USA. For instance, there are now more than 30 major companies that provide webcasts in Europe, as well as hundreds of small webcasters.

Jay Berman, Chairman and CEO of IFPI, said: "This is another milestone in the development of online music services. In the past, setting up webcasting licenses in multiple countries, for example across Europe, has been an arduous and time-consuming task. It was important for our collecting societies to set up a system that would remove these hurdles. It will be much easier for these companies to operate across borders, and we expect to see webcasting gain momentum as a result of this agreement."

The webcasting agreement has been developed by the recording industry, represented by IFPI, together with the national collecting societies representing producers.

The move comes two years after a similar agreement on one-stop licensing of "simulcasts" by broadcasters simultaneously transmitting on the internet. A total of 33 countries have already signed up to the simulcasting agreement.

The webcasting agreement is expected to be signed by societies in at least as many countries, including the USA, France, Germany, India, Spain and the UK.

For further information contact Julie Harari or Fiona Harley at IFPI
tel: +44 (0) 20 7878 7900

Notes to Editors

IFPI represents the recording industry internationally with over 1,500 member companies in 76 countries.