A new service has been launched to collect and distribute
royalty payments from on-line radio stations and webcasters.
SoundExchange is representing around 270 record companies
worldwide, including the five major record labels that spearheaded
copyright infringement actions against the on-line music service
MP3.com.
The body has been set up as a division of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which itself is representing the major recording companies in the continuing high profile action against Napster, the internet song-swapping service.
SoundExchange says it is "dedicated to making the process of licensing music and collecting royalties as accurate, simple and fair as possible for all involved."
Last night, Madonna performed a concert before a live audience of 2,800 in Brixton Academy, London. The concert's live webcast by Microsoft's MSN is said to have been the biggest-ever live internet event, with estimates of the on-line audience ranging from 5 million to 210 million.
With the inevitable offer on the MSN site to buy Madonna's CDs, some have already described the event as a new development in the business models for on-line music promotion.
