Getty Images provides photography for nearly every visual media outlet; it has a massive network of news photographers and a library of 70 million stock images. The company routinely acquires other licensing companies and archives to expand its market share, so last month's $42 million acquisition of Pump Audio, a catalog of 700,000 tracks by indie artists you've likely never heard of, was not earth-shaking news. However, Getty CEO Jonathan Klein is hoping to use that purchase to remake how you hear music:


Users can browse through Pump Audio's catalog of about 700,000 tracks -- mostly from independent and unsigned artists -- and purchase licenses for as low as $25 for a podcast to $50,000 or more for a nationwide TV spot.



But Getty isn't stopping there. CEO Jonathan Klein said he plans to expand the licensing business to include content from major labels and mainstream acts, and continues to negotiate with several labels and publishers toward that end.



The idea is to streamline the music licensing process so more potential customers can get involved.



"Everyone always focuses on the grand slam, but that's not a sustainable way to build an industry," Klein said. "There's a focus on licensing a tiny percentage of the catalog in a very complex way with prices in the stratosphere that have no basis in reality to a small number of people ... We want to simplify the process."
Getty already uses extensive technology to hunt down blogs and other Web sites that use its images without permission; is it difficult to see a future where Getty, as music license holder, is tracking down sites that use MP3s without paying a $25 or higher license fee? While a website-based, flat-fee music licensing site would certainly be easier for the user than trying to navigate the current labyrinth of publishers and labels, turning over the controls to companies like Getty would likely see a heavier crackdown on the unauthorized use of music on the Web, and the sending out of retroactive-license bills like the ones unauthorized photo bloggers occasionally receive.
Fear not, music blogger, because the music industry won't let anyone encroach on their copyright territory without a fight. The labels are for the simplicity of taking your money, just against the idea that the price might be lowered in the process:

In theory at least, publishers and labels agree -- so long as making it easier to license a song doesn't mean making it cheaper.

"The structure of rights does make licensing more complicated, (and) any mechanism that allows one to bring those rights together is positive," EMI Music Publishing CEO Roger Faxon said. But, he added, "one has to recognize that music is not a commodity. Each individual license has a unique character, and that has to be recognized in the pricing."
Getty Images aims to streamline music licensing [Reuters]
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