Toronto’s Mediazoic Closes Licensing Deal with AVLA
Submitted by Mike 15 weeks 2 days ago
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
By Vanessa Markov
We were the first generation to have free, instant access to millions upon millions of songs. We burned the first mix CDs to be sold out of high school lockers and we bought the first mp3 players and iPods that replaced the forsaken Discman. We witnessed the birth and subsequent death of digital sharing platforms like Napster and have endured intimidating lawsuits and campaigns attempting to nip online sharing in the bud, to no avail. We saw the MySpace band boom and watched independent artists and labels utilizing the reach of the World Wide Web to rise high above the corporate herd. And now finally, more than a decade later and not a second too soon, we will witness the dawn of the Mediazoic era.
Musicians and music lovers, brace yourselves for the following statement, because it is sure to go down in music history as a major bridge in the ongoing battle to control sharing and distribution of digital music:
“Toronto, January 24, 2012: Toronto-based digital music company Mediazoic today announced a deal with the AVLA (Audio-Video Licensing Agency), which will allow Mediazoic’s internet radio network to carry the music catalogues of more than 1000 record companies representing the majority of all sound recordings and music videos produced and/or distributed in Canada.”
To be extra clear, this deal covers the streaming of music from Universal, Warner, Sony, and EMI: the four major labels that control the majority of the world’s music catalogue. To be extra, extra clear, this deal means owners of Mediazoic’s digital streaming radio stations are legally allowed to publicly stream major licensed music just like traditional radio stations for the first time in history. And who are these station owners? Music lovers.
The Mediazoic streaming radio platform, which went live in April 2011, was created to allow music lovers from all walks of life to curate playlists and share them with the online world in real time. The platform is extremely simple to use and licensing fees are fair and affordable, allowing for just about anyone with a passion for sharing music to do so in a highly user-friendly and community-based environment. Better yet, the system can be monetized through sponsorship and advertising deals and features a tracking system that logs song plays, allowing Mediazoic to handle the administration of applicable royalties to artists, stakeholders, and station owners alike.
Currently, the most notable users and supporters of Mediazoic include local radio celebrity Alan Cross whose station features a weekly Top 11, international record producer and recording artist Chris Birkett, and iconic radio producer David Bray who now shares his state of the art recording facility in downtown Toronto with the Mediazoic family. Other existing stations are run by a variety of independent artists, labels, publicists, and music bloggers who have spent the last year curating a comprehensive network of streams that feature thousands of songs from independent labels under the IDLA (Independent Digital Licensing Agency). In light of the new deal with the AVLA, the catalogue of songs available to Mediazoic users has soared from the tens of thousands into possible millions and includes countless major hits and artists of both past and present. “
Our listeners know that every one of our stations has been playing great music since our launch last year,” says Mediazoic founder Greg Nisbet, “but let’s face it, now that our station hosts can throw a bit of Joni Mitchell, K’naan or Leonard Cohen into the mix, the listener experience is going to get a whole lot better. Our aim has always been to capture some of the magic that happens between people when great music is created and heard, and spread that magic across the digital realm, so we’re really excited about all of the wonderful collaborations that this deal will allow us to explore.”
We have never been closer to revolutionizing the way we find and share music than now. Now, anyone who ever dreamed of hosting a radio show can do so with minimal effort and while giving back to the artist, through Mediazoic. Similarly, both major and independent artists can reap all the benefits of radio promotion and profit via internet while allowing listeners to experience limitless opportunities for spontaneous discovery without the repetitiveness and politics of traditional radio. Now, thanks to the ongoing efforts of Mediazoic to bring change and growth to the digital music age, a bridge has been built that equally benefits all parties involved – truly the first of its kind.
Visit www.mediazoic.com to find out more about this incredible system and to inquire on how you can take part in the Mediazoic movement.
