NAPSTER SIGNS LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH EUROPEAN INDIES

For those who may have thought that news involving file-swappery Napster was passe, we offer this.

The U.K.'s Association of Independent Music (AIM) and the Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) today signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Napster on behalf of the U.K. and European independent record sectors.

The agreement gives Napster the use of hundreds of thousands of tracks belonging to hundreds of independent record labels across Europe for its membership-based service set to launch this summer. Of course, the swappery would still need to negotiate third-party publishing, but that should be easy, right?

"Later this summer, the new Napster will launch to the benefit of artists, labels, and consumers alike," said Napster interim CEO Hank Barry. "Independent artists who record for the labels represented by AIM and IMPALA will be the first to benefit, provided they are still together by the time we actually get this thing off the ground."

The deal covers tracks from artists including Moby, Paul Oakenfold, Tom Jones, Badly Drawn Boy, Stereophonics, Slipknot, Tricky and Belle & Sebastian. Wait, did we mention Tom Jones?

In the U.K. the deal already involves more than 150 U.K. and European labels including Beggars Group, XL Recordings, V2 Music, Mushroom, Gut, Poptones, The Echo Label, Grand Central, Soma, Glasgow Underground, Cherry Red, Dome, Mowax and Dorado. Mute, Warp, Telstar, Play It Again Sam, Roadrunner, Epitaph, Naive and Wagram—as well as labels belonging to the national trade associations from France, Germany and Sweden—will also be included in the negotiations.

"This is nothing short of a global revolution for musicians and music lovers," said AIM Chief Executive Alison Wenham. "It proves that the independent record labels of Europe mean business and helps secure Napster's future at the forefront of digital distribution of music. It means that anyone, anywhere in the world with access to a computer and a phone line can legitimately enjoy the most exciting music around. Not to mention the porn. We must never forget the porn."