(this article was published on February 18, 2025 in the statewide Daily Journal ®)
As a music lawyer for several decades, I’ve seen how digital media has completely changed how music is presented and absorbed by fans, brands, and other consumers and users of music-related products and services. As a result, I’ve been surprised that unlike other specific business-related top-level domains (each a TLD) such as “.clothing”, “.finance”, and “.games” to name but a few, there’s never been a music-centric TLD to provide a targeted way for the presentation, protection, and absorption of music online.
Until now.
There’s finally a .MUSIC domain available through accredited registrars. The registry for and information about qualifying for and obtaining a .MUSIC domain is https://www.registry.music/.
Unlike most other business-related TLDs, a .MUSIC domain is only available to those who qualify as having some type of legitimate connection to the music industry. Examples include musicians, record labels, distribution and label services, music venues, music schools, educators, instrument makers, publishers, administrators, aggregators, concert promoters, and any other music-related individual or entity.
It’s unique in that it will provide business benefits to its registrants that other business-related TLDs don’t. The .MUSIC domain is promoted as a dedicated space to function as a secure and trusted online identification for all music-related endeavors, which will assist in legitimate music consumption, protecting creators’ and brands’ IP, fighting piracy, and generally promoting music.
The .MUSIC registry claims it will be the first TLD “launched with music-tailored policies to protect creators’ rights and ensure that legitimate music artists, industry professionals and companies can claim their name without fear of cybersquatting or piracy”.
I hope they’re right. The registry feels this is of supreme importance given the ease with which bad actors can manipulate online content, using it for their own purposes and monetary gain, without permission from its owners. (Somewhat harder for bad actors to do if creators register their works for copyright, and their names/brands for trademark, something I’ve advocated for years. Click this link: https://www.telikoslaw.com/just-sayin-blog/can-you-copyright-your-brand-trademark-your-original-content-no-but-you-can-protect-them to see how that works).
It also intends to provide artists and organizations with greater ability to control their online presence, provide accurate and up-to-date information, enhance their visibility and discoverability, and improve fan engagement.
How will it accomplish all this? It says through dedicated policies addressing verification, a global Protected Music Marks List to protect famous music brands’ and artists’ names, providing a gateway to legal music-related content and the ability to license it, takedowns of pirated content, and legitimate connection of a registered .MUSIC domain name to an actual music-related name or brand, to prevent impersonation, cybersquatting, and other bad behavior.
To do this, the registrant’s desired name must be either: the entirety or a portion of their name; an acronym representing their full name; a name that recognizes or describes them; or, a name relating to their music mission or activities.
A registrant must also:
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· Provide proof of a legitimate connection to the music industry, such as membership in a music industry association or organization;
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· Provide proof of ownership of music copyrights, or trademarks in music-related classes;
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· Establish engagement in music-related business activities, or
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· accreditation as a music educator; and,
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· agree to abide by the .MUSIC TLD’s policies and community guidelines.
One particularly interesting aspect of .MUSIC’s mission is their professed focus on the development and implementation of a .MUSIC Song Registry, whose purpose will be to finally and effectively facilitate legal marketing and licensing of music by .MUSIC registrants through a global registry.
Anyone in our industry knows there have been previous unsuccessful attempts to create this Holy Grail — a centralized, comprehensive global database of music rights, for locating music rights holders, accurately dealing with applicable royalty distribution, and facilitating licensing and other agreements. Those attempts include by the International Music Registry (which was administered by WIPO, and funded by Google), and the EU’s Global Repertoire Database. Hopefully, .MUSIC will finally be able to pull this off.
The .MUSIC registry is to be overseen by a Governance Council comprised of leading music industry associations around the world, and across the music ecosystem. They include the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), International Ticketing Association (INTIX), ReverbNation, Future of Music Coalition (FMC), International Artist Organization (IAO), International Federation of Musicians (FIM), International Society for Music Education (ISME), International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICPM), Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), and International Music Products Association, among others.
The takeaway? Based on the above, I think anyone involved in music, be they artists, labels, publishers, promoters, educators, instrument makers, publishers, or any other music-centric individual or entity, should avail themselves of .MUSIC domains. There appears to be little if any downside, and it will hopefully prove to be a focused way to connect with fans, brands, a new way to grow and monetize online presence, and a symphony of digital satisfaction for our industry.
Just Sayin’ …™