Gracenote, Music Publishers to Bring Song Lyrics to Online Stores

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2006 - 12:22pm.

Emeryville, Calif. - Gracenote, a provider of a database of music information and CD identification services, announced this week that it has signed agreements with the major music publishers for the rights to distribute song lyrics online. The company's deals with BMG Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Peermusic and other publishers will likely result in the addition of song lyrics to the album cover art and other extras provided when users purchase digital songs at online retailers like iTunes and Rhapsody. The lyrics feature could also aid consumers in identifying songs for which they may know a line or phrase, but not the title of the song. "We anticipate that you'll see different kinds of offers in the market, where lyrics are combined with recorded music in a total package like a subscription," Gracenote VP of business development Ross Blanchard told Reuters. "This extra element should help drive sales growth. There are a lot of ways the services will derive value outside of adding an extra charge." The big music publishers have also recently targeted unauthorized sites that offer free lyrics -- like Lyrics.com and AZLyrics.com -- with cease-and-desist letters; it's possible these sites will now be approached to license Gracenote's lyrics database.

http://www.gracenote.com/lyrics
http://tinyurl.com/ltnjt (Reuters)