* International Copyright Enterprise (ICE) and Deloitte creating the database on European Union go-ahead

* Initiative is good news for users of music and will ensure fair and prompt payment for artists

MUMBAI: The Working Group set up by the European Union has given the go-ahead to two companies - International Copyright Enterprise (ICE) and Deloitte - to launch the Global Repertoire Database (GRD) for musical works. This decision might well turn out to be the most significant development for the music industry this century and validates the Government's Amendments to the Indian Copyright Act,... says Achille Forler, managing director of Deep Emotions Publishing, India's largest music publisher and joint-venture partner of Universal Music Publishing, the world's largest music publisher.

Ever since the advent of the Internet and digital distribution of music, a clear need has been felt for an authoritative, centralized and consolidated repository of information about musical works and their ownership. There is currently no database that provides access to authoritative comprehensive multi-territory information about the ownership or control of the global repertoire of musical works and that is openly available to songwriters, publishers, Collective Rights Management (CRM) organizations (such as the Indian Performing Right Society – IPRS - in India) and users of music.

There are of course numerous databases of varying quality held by Performing Right Societies around the world and whilst these provide some ownership or control information for some of the global repertoire, the data, even on a national level, is not always maintained at an optimum level nor always openly accessible to the stakeholders... says Forler. A resource like GMR has significant benefits for all stakeholders as it will maximize trust in licensing solutions, deliver administrative efficiency through standardization and interoperability and provide for a level of accuracy, comprehensiveness and automation fit for the 21st Century....

The Global Repertoire Database Working Group (GRD WG) is made up of eight companies: Amazon, Universal Music Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, iTunes, Nokia and three Authors-Composers Societies: PRS for Music (UK), SACEM (France) and STIM (Sweden). All members of the International Confederation of Authors-Composers Societies (CISAC) and the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) have committed to placing their repertoire data in this open, transparent and efficient Global Repertoire Database, and urge all writers, music rights holders and rights managers to also make their repertoires available. There is a general recognition that a tool such as the GRD is needed to allow easy and efficient transaction processing in the music supply chain.

ICE and Deloitte will now embark on a scoping and stakeholder Consultation Study planned to conclude in Autumn 2011. The music publishing industry will now be cooperating with the Working Group to consider issues such as data workflow, finance and governance.

A global repertoire database is an idea whose time has come. It is an essential piece of global infrastructure for the digital economy and society. It is time to work on the expression of the idea,... says Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).