It feels like we've been waiting for the .music domain forever. When released, it will open up to possibility for thousands of musicians and music companies to have a domain name more reflective of their offline moniker, as well as, some interesting lawsuits.
Cyprus based Constantine Roussos of DotMusic Limited has received backing from one of the most influential trade groups in music, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in his effort to win the rights to sell all internet addresses ending in dot-music. (Read the official statement here.) The IFPI represents 1300 record companies including the major labels Universal, Sony and Warner Music.
If Roussos's tiny company wins, he will be beating major internet players like Google and Amazon to control rights worth tens of millions.
His chances lie in a process called “community evaluation". Basically, if the community being served - in this case musicians and the music industry - expresses strong preference either for or against an applicant to control and sell a domain, the internet domain governing body IFCAN will lean in that direction.
Russsos has already gathered endorsements from 100+ global music organizations so far, but the IFPI nod is by far the largest. "Our community-based initiative for .music has assembled the largest global music coalition in the history of music to support a music cause," he told El Reg. “It represents over 95 per cent of music consumed globally."
.Music's Mission
“The DotMusic mission is create a safe haven for legal music consumption under a trusted, secure and authentic .music top-level domain," Roussos told The Register. “Our objective is to create the standard for validated music websites operating under music-tailored policies that enhance legal music consumption, protect copyright and eliminate cybersquatting."
Cyprus based Constantine Roussos of DotMusic Limited has received backing from one of the most influential trade groups in music, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in his effort to win the rights to sell all internet addresses ending in dot-music. (Read the official statement here.) The IFPI represents 1300 record companies including the major labels Universal, Sony and Warner Music.
If Roussos's tiny company wins, he will be beating major internet players like Google and Amazon to control rights worth tens of millions.
His chances lie in a process called “community evaluation". Basically, if the community being served - in this case musicians and the music industry - expresses strong preference either for or against an applicant to control and sell a domain, the internet domain governing body IFCAN will lean in that direction.
Russsos has already gathered endorsements from 100+ global music organizations so far, but the IFPI nod is by far the largest. "Our community-based initiative for .music has assembled the largest global music coalition in the history of music to support a music cause," he told El Reg. “It represents over 95 per cent of music consumed globally."
.Music's Mission
“The DotMusic mission is create a safe haven for legal music consumption under a trusted, secure and authentic .music top-level domain," Roussos told The Register. “Our objective is to create the standard for validated music websites operating under music-tailored policies that enhance legal music consumption, protect copyright and eliminate cybersquatting."
