ICANN is to award US company DotMusic the rights to the .music top-level domain name extension and move to contracting soon.

Other applicants for .music included global companies, Google and Amazon, leading domain registries, Donuts, Radix and MMX, and other interested groups. It will be the first domain extension launched with music-tailored policies to protect creators’ rights and ensure that legitimate music artists, industry professionals and companies can claim a name without fear of cybersquatting or piracy.

‘This is a new digital era for the global music community,’ says DotMusic founder and CEO, Constantine Roussos. ‘For the first time in Internet history, music community members will be able to register their own exclusive, verified, and trusted .music domain name.’

‘As the online marketplace around the world continues to evolve, so too do the challenges the music community faces in preventing music from being made available illegally and ensuring fans have access to licenced services,’ says International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Chief Executive, Frances Moore. We welcome DotMusic’s commitments to safeguard .music domains against unlawful uses and we look forward to working closely with the DotMusic team in implementing those commitments.’

‘We welcome an international community approach to tackle this complex issue,’ says , International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) Executive Director,’ Magdalena Moreno Mujica. ‘IFACCA’s vision is a world in which arts and culture thrive and are recognised by governments and peoples for their contribution to society; this initiative promises to help realise this vision, by supporting artists to thrive – not least by protecting their welfare and intellectual property rights – and providing a trusted space for global audiences to engage with and support artists.’

‘Since the beginning, our hope was that this process would yield a .music domain where proper and effective safeguards would protect the rights of music creators globally and allow them control over their work,’ says Brad Buckles, Chief Content Protection Officer, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). ‘We look forward to working with DotMusic on implementing this vision to ensure that the internet ecosystem is a safe, vibrant, and innovative place where legitimate music creation, access, and distribution can thrive.’

‘This was a hard-fought and competitive process and we look forward to the great potential of the .music domain for songwriters and music publishers alike who will greatly benefit from its piracy and copyright protections,’ says David Israelite, President and CEO, National Music Publisher Association (NMPA).

‘As an organisation of performers, songwriters and studio professionals, the Recording Academy is pleased to see the community-focus for the new .music domain,’ says Daryl P Friedman, Chief Industry, Government and Relations Officer, The Recording Academy/Grammys. ‘We look forward to working with the team at DotMusic to ensure creators and intellectual property are respected on all .music sites.’

‘WIN welcomes the announcement that DotMusic has succeeded in its application to manage the .music top-level-domain. We look forward to working together to ensure this opportunity will benefit the music community by further developing the licensed online music market, and creating another line of defense against piracy,’ says Charlie Phillips, COO, Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).

‘A2IM’s mission to promote growth, awareness and equality of opportunity for independent music through advocacy, education and community, is aligned with .music’s principles. We welcome the launch of the .music domain that addresses the concerns and needs of the music community,’ says Dr Richard James Burgess, President and CEO, American Association of Independent Music (A2IM).

‘We are delighted that the .music domain name extension will afford all of us – music publishers, composers, songwriters and our associations – the opportunity to ensure that we can claim and protect our names against cybersquatters. It has been a long journey but it is great to see the international music community validated,’ said Pierre Mossiat, President, Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF).

The .music registry team will work closely with the global music community and the .music Governance Board to prepare for the safe, responsible and prudent launch of .music. The anticipated launch of .music is 2020.

More: www.music.us