Google Play Music first to sign with ICE, the new music licensing and processing service

23 May 2016

Google Play Music first to sign with ICE, the new music licensing and processing service

ice-google-play-music

23 May 2016: 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”

 

Notes to editors:

ICE offers a flexible suite of services and has been developed from best-in-class technologies that will deliver unparalleled economies of scale, speed, efficiency, accuracy and business intelligence reporting.  It is the fruition of a partnership that harnesses years of combined experience in collective management, servicing and which has shaped the digital market from the outset.

The benefits will be wide reaching, offering solutions to all European rightsholders. The economies of scale and increased efficiencies will deliver cost saving benefits to all. The hub offers a potential transformative benefit to new and smaller music repertoires as inclusion into the core licence enables the potential for greater access to DSPs.

ICE Licensing – providing consolidated licensing of PRS for Music, GEMA and STIM’s multi-territory online rights and options for other rights holders to join the same core licence.

ICE Operations – providing state of the art online matching and processing services, together with comprehensive multi-territorial copyright services.  It currently administers the majority of the value of pan-European Online music usage on a single system, using a single, comprehensive copyright database.

Current customers: PRS for Music, STIM, GEMA*, Polaris (Koda, Teosto & TONO), SABAM* and BUMA/STEMRA.

*currently undergoing process of on-boarding copyright data into ICE.

ICE Services – providing business enhancing middle-office services including invoicing, legal support and business intelligence analysis to both ICE Licensing customers and those offering bespoke processing solutions, such as Solar, and Aresa.

View this press release in SwedishLäs pressmeddelandet på svenska här

Recent Posts

ICE strikes deal with gaming & metaverse start-up STYNGR

22 February 2023

  ICE and STYNGR, the gaming metaverse start-up, have announced a deal covering the multi-territory use of the ICE Core repertoire. STYNGR’s innovative new service brings new uses of music... ICE strikes deal with gaming & metaverse start-up STYNGR Continued

AKM join the ICE Core

09 December 2022

Austrian collection society AKM (together with its subsidiary austro mechana), has become the latest rightsholder to directly join the ICE Core’s market-leading licensing representation for online music services. The deal... AKM join the ICE Core Continued

ICE recruits Govinda Fichtner as CTO

29 March 2022

ICE, the world’s first integrated processing hub, is excited to announce that Govinda Fichtner will join as CTO (Chief Technology Officer). He joins ICE from IONOS, a leading web hosting... ICE recruits Govinda Fichtner as CTO Continued

Skip to main content
Cookie Notice