The newly redesigned www.pro-music.org website has launched as ‘a simple information resource for anyone looking to find out more about legitimate digital music services across the world’.
First launched in 2003, Pro-Music is created by IFPI in partnership with a coalition of global music industry partners including major and independent record companies, performers, managers, publishers, retailers and musicians’ unions. It gives precise and up-to-date information about the world’s 500 legal music sites.
The site has two main features:
- A comprehensive directory of links to licensed music services, listed by type of service and by country
- An information portal with simple guidance about copyright law, a guide on how to access music safely and legally (available in nine languages), and links to useful educational resources and reports about the industry.
To reflect the growing choice of digital music services available, the site now breaks down all the services by type (download, subscription, and ad-supported), as well as by territories across the globe.
The site reflects the rapid development of the digital music business over recent years. When launched in 2003, Pro-Music listed just 20 services in the whole of Europe, and iTunes had just launched in the US, selling one million downloads in its first week. Consumers could choose from up to 200,000 tracks.
Today, consumers from over 100 countries worldwide can choose from more than 26 million tracks, across around 500 different services. They have unprecedented choice in how they access music: buying on-demand, streaming, subscription or listening free with ads, on myriad digital music players. Digital music now accounts for one-third of recorded music revenues globally, valued at $5.2 billion in 2011.
Frances Moore, IFPI CEO (pictured) said: “Pro-Music is a great illustration of the enormous range of choice that is now available to music fans – from downloads to streaming, from subscription services to music video, and all across myriad devices.
“The Pro-Music site aims to be an easy-to-use first port of call for anyone wanting to find licensed music sites and learn more about digital music. When Pro-Music first launched in 2003, digital was a small part of our sector and limited to a small handful of countries – today it is the beating heart of our business across the world.”Music Business Worldwide
