The National Music Publishers Association, The Harry Fox Agency Inc. and the Recording Industry Association of America have reached a "breakthrough agreement" on the licensing of musical works for new subscription services on the Internet, the RIAA said on Tuesday.
"This agreement removes a major legal roadblock for the new online subscription services," Hilary Rosen, RIAA's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
"The coming subscription services may now begin licensing thousands of musical works immediately. For consumers, this will essentially mean they will have access to more and better on-line music options, sooner."
The RIAA said that under the agreement, it and all its member labels and their licencees, including the new online subscription services, will immediately have access to every musical work authorized to be licensed by the Harry Fox Agency, the largest agency in the industry for licensing reproductions and distributions of musical works. HFA will issue licenses for subscription services offering on-demand streaming and limited downloads.
News source: MSNBC
