GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC FIRST TO SIGN WITH ICE, THE NEW MUSIC LICENSING AND PROCESSING SERVICE

23 May 2016 - Press release

ICE, the new music licensing and rights royalty processing service representing more than 250,000 songwriters, publishers and composers, announces its first licence agreement with Google Play Music.
 
This agreement with Google Play Music is evidence of the significant progress made by ICE which follows five years investment and development by its three European collective management organisation (CMO) shareholders.
 
PRS for Music (UK), STIM (Sweden) and GEMA (Germany) have built ICE together to provide an integrated licensing and royalty processing service with a goal of improving the efficiency of the music industry and supporting the growth of the multi-territory music market.
 
ICE will process online music usage using a single matching engine attached to the most comprehensive copyright database in Europe. This means not only that unnecessary processing will be eliminated, but also that disputed claims will be significantly reduced for the majority of European online music usage.  Disputes are a major problem impacting music services and this is an important step forward in resolving this issue.
 
Google Play Music, the popular streaming and digital music store, has more than 35 million songs and specially curated playlists to suit every mood and occasion. As an ICE customer, it has access to the full repertoire of PRS for Music (including the rights of MCPS and IMPEL), STIM and GEMA with more to follow, in one licence.
 
Robert Ashcroft, CEO ICE Services said:
 
“We are proud to have been able to work together with Google Play Music to launch the first ICE Services online music licence. ICE will make a major contribution to the Digital Single Market by simplifying pan-European licensing for digital music service providers and maximising value for rightsholders. We are delighted to mark the beginning of a revolution in the online market”
 
Victoria Campoamor, Head of International Music Publishing Partner Operations, YouTube and Google Play Music said:
 
“We are honoured to have been selected as the pilot digital service and are pleased to be the first licensee to sign an agreement with ICE. We look forward to building a constructive relationship with ICE and to the realization of operational efficiencies from the new platform and its benefits to composers and publishers”