Brussels: One music licence to rule them all

The European Commission has said it now thinks the way artists' rights are collected needs to be changed to boost the development of legal digital music platforms.

The EC now has a European licence project in its sights which would enable online music distribution platforms to issue royalties to rights holders more easily, according to Reuters, citing a source close to the project.

Currently, a platform like iTunes has to negotiate with representatives of music rights holders from each European country where it wants to operate - a legal nightmare.

According to Reuters, the EC is getting ready to publish a study recommending the creation of pan-European organisations used to collecting authors' rights and royalties across the 25 member states. The song shops will also be able to buy a single, pan-European licence.

Brussels will initiate a public consultation on the subject this month, then formulate concrete proposals in the autumn.

However such a licence may operate, the EC has concluded the status quo is no longer an option and has become a genuine obstacle in the development of competition in the online music market.

Estelle Dumout writes for ZDNet France