Web music firm FullAudio on Thursday said it reached a licensing deal with the Harry Fox Agency Inc., a licensing agent representing more than 160,000 songwriters, for the online subscription service FullAudio plans to launch within weeks.
Under this nonexclusive agreement, FullAudio will have access to every musical work authorized by participating publishers licensed by Harry Fox, a subsidiary of the National Music Publishers’ Association.
Terms were not disclosed.
The agreement also allows FullAudio subscribers to transfer tracks from their PCs to portable devices.
FullAudio earlier this week announced it had licensed Warner Music, clinching its third licensing deal with a major record label for its soon to be launched service through Clear Channel Communications Inc. radio stations.
Warner-controlled tracks, along with recordings from EMI Group Plc and Vivendi Universal’sUniversal Music Group will be included on the service.
Online services need licenses for both sound recordings, generally held by record companies, and the underlying compositions, which are held by publishers and songwriters.
Warner Music is a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc.
The service, which enables users to download songs for a monthly fee, is currently being tested in Phoenix.
FullAudio is providing the infrastructure and content for the subscription to Clear Channel and other yet-to-be named distributors, who then set their own pricing for the service.
The FullAudio service will compete against major label-backed services like MusicNet and Pressplay as well as start-up Listen.com’s Rhapsody service.
Pricing for the Clear Channel service, tentatively to be called Musicnow, is slated to start at $7.49, which lets the listener download 50 tracks a month, which accumulate every month so the user would have 600 by year’s end, sources said.
The service would be cheaper than MusicNet and Pressplay, which are currently priced at just under $10 a month for their most basic service.
