Canada's Record Industry Licenses Tracks to Napster, MusicNet, PureTracks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 10, 2003 - 4:40am.

Toronto -- The Canadian recording industry has announced the signing of licensing agreements with a number of online music services, which will soon result in the launch of services including Napster and MusicNet in Canada. The agreement was signed by the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. (CMRRA) and the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). The first to benefit from the agreement will be Canada-based PureTracks, which intends to launch its paid download service on Oct. 14. Canadian versions of both Napster and MusicNet are expected to launch shortly, all offering songs starting at $0.99. "This agreement sets up a solid, practical system to enable these new online services to obtain the rights they need to do business in Canada," said CMRRA president David Basskin. "Music publishers and songwriters are vitally important members of the music industry, and this agreement ensures that their rights will be respected -- and that they'll be paid for the use of their songs."
http://www.cria.ca/news/onlineserver_09oct03.htm
http://www.puretracks.com