Independent publisher Concord Music is to sign a deal with pan-European digital licensing body ICE to represent its online rights, Music Week can reveal.
As a result, the company’s rights will be taken out of independent publishers online licensing scheme IMPEL.
The news was confirmed by a Concord spokesman who said simply: “We can confirm that Concord is moving to ICE to represent their rights.” It declined to comment further, while ICE declined to comment, although sources there also confirmed the deal.
The news comes nine months after US-based Concord bought leading European indie publisher Imagem Music Group. One week ago, Music Week revealed plans for the rights represented by IMPEL members to be taken out of MCPS when the indie publishers body goes fully independent later in the year.
IMPEL will then develop its own strategy and leadership team. At the moment, it is part of the MPA Group Of Companies, currently being restructured by CEO Jane Dyball.
“That group of publishers always wanted to be fully independent, and have their own entity,” Dyball told Music Week.
Another IMPEL member, Downtown Music Publishing, also recently signed a deal with ICE, via its royalty collection platform Songtrust.
ICE CEO Robert Ashcroft recently told Music Week that ICE has now done 44 licensing deals with digital music services. It subsequently also sealed a deal with Facebook.
To read the full interview with Ashcroft, click here. To read the full interview with Dyball, click here. To subscribe to Music Week and never miss a vital music biz story, click here.
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