Napster has signed a licensing deal with 150 independent
European record labels. The deal will make thousands of songs from
artists such as Tom Jones, Stereophonics and Moby, available to
users on Napster’s new subscription service which is due to launch
later in the Summer.
The world-wide licensing agreement is Napster’s first direct
multi-label deal and represents a significant step in Napster’s
recent efforts to change direction by legally distributing record
labels’ music on-line, paying royalties to both artists and record
labels.
However, the deal does not cover third party publishing rights,
which will have to be negotiated directly with the music
publishers. This could initially restrict the new subscription
service.
The 150 independent labels have said that they will only
co-operate with Napster if the new service is proved to be secure
and that the royalties are paid in an efficient manner.
