New formats

MCPS often receives enquiries about licensing arrangements for developing formats and content usage models; here are some of the developments we have seen in the last 12 months. Should you have any enquiries about licensing music usage and formats that fall outside the terms of your licensing scheme, please contact your licensing agent.

USB devices for data storage are now common place in our businesses and homes with a myriad of products on the market at prices from £5 upwards. The first ever music release on a USB memory stick was last September by Keane (Island, Universal), which was released on a 512kb memory stick. The label released 1,500 copies of the single on USB memory stick exclusively through HMV stores in the UK and all of the copies sold in a single day.

As well as memory sticks, there have been music releases on memory cards which fit into mobile phones and to mp3 players. As early as June 2004 Robbie Williams released a greatest hits compilation (30,000 copies) on a phone memory card which was made available exclusively through the Carphone Warehouse. More recently, Island Universal released a commemorative 30th Anniversary edition of Bob Marley's Exodus on USB Memory stick (4,000 copies). And in film, UK firm Rok Entertainment licensed the first Austin Powers movie for release in June 2006.

Bundling music with MP3 players is also growing. Outside the music industry we have seen MP3 players branded with the colours of Newcastle United (complete with a special message from Alan Shearer) and an England football team-branded MP3 device, but no album releases yet.

Finally there have been some special edition mobile phone releases, where a marketing deal between an artist, label and handset manufacturer leads to music being bundled on phones. There have been a number of these initiatives, many of them between SonyBMG artists such as Jamiroquai and Christina Aguilera and Sony Ericsson handsets.

Chart ineligibility will obviously hinder traditional music product releases for some of these formats but with other format developments such as Blu-ray and HD DVD, the next year proves to be an interesting time.

If you are contemplating any such products yourself do let us know as we are currently looking to develop the most appropriate licensing approach for this area and would love to hear from you.

Source: MCPS / MusicAlly June 2007