Apple recruits to meet EU's music licensing demand

Apple has posted a listing for an iTunes Pan-EU Label Relations head that would help the company meet its agreement with the European Commission to have Europe-wide music licensing. The official would help manage deals with labels in "key European markets," among them Scandinavian countries and Spain. No direct clues were given as to when the deals would take effect.

The recruiting comes as part of a larger, industry wide push steered by the EU to end what's seen as an unfair competitive landscape in digital music. Current label deals are often restricted to individual countries and often don't reach certain countries at all. Large countries like the UK, France and Germany have often had large catalogs, but smaller ones have often seen just a fraction of the similar library.

Despite speculation, the deal is unlikely to be a direct response to Spotify's strong influence on European music. Amazon, Nokia and some other labels are also collaborating with Apple on standardizing deals for the continent as well.

Any wide licensing may still be helpful in heading off the rival service, which gained its popularity by providing free, ad-subsidized music from all four major international labels. Apple is still thought to be well away from iTunes streaming but may be eager to set the groundwork by promising a similar level of content available in Europe. [via TechCrunch]

by MacNN Staff