Spiralfrog Signs Agreement with Warner/Chappell Music

03/31/08 -- SpiralFrog, Inc., the free ad-supported, Web-based music experience, and Warner/Chappell Music (WCM), the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE:WMG), today announced an agreement to make the company’s catalog of music compositions available to complement SpiralFrog’s growing roster of audio and video content.

“SpiralFrog has achieved significant milestones in the growth of ad-supported music with more than 850,000 registered users and 2.3 million monthly ‘uniques.’ We are the only service of our kind to secure publishing deals with all the major rights holders,” said Chairman and founder of SpiralFrog Joe Mohen. “SpiralFrog has spent the last five years developing a proprietary database of aggregated publishing and recording rights to fairly compensate all rights holders. This is a competitive advantage that others will find hard to replicate.”

Article continues below...

“We are continually seeking out new revenue streams for our artists and songwriters and want to support innovative new distribution methods,” said Ann Sweeney, Executive Vice President of Warner/Chappell Music. “We hope our premiere catalog of classic and contemporary songs finds a wider audience on SpiralFrog's growing digital platform.”

Signing rights from music publishers is a critical element in SpiralFrog’s mission to make ad-supported music downloading available as an alternative to pirate music sites. Licensing sound recordings and music videos requires more than obtaining rights from the recording artists and record labels. The writers and composers of the songs themselves must also be compensated, and music publishers license these underlying compositions.

About SpiralFrog
Headquartered in New York, SpiralFrog (spiralfrog.com) is a Web-based advertising-supported music experience that combines music discovery with free and legal downloads of audio and video content licensed directly from the catalogs of the world’s leading music owners. SpiralFrog offers music-lovers a compelling alternative to illicit file-sharing and pirate sites, with a secure environment for them to satisfy their unyielding passion and thirst for music and entertainment information at no cost.

About Warner/Chappell Music
Warner/Chappell Music is WMG’s award-winning global music publishing company. The Warner/Chappell Music catalog included standards such as “Happy Birthday To You,” “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Winter Wonderland,” the songs of Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin, as well as the music of Dido, Dr. Dre, Eric Clapton, Green Day, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Nickelback, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sheryl Crow, T.I. and others. Warner/Chappell Music is a leader in creating innovative strategies for marketing and promoting its songwriters and their music. The company’s extensive catalog makes it a natural first stop for A&R executives and record producers, feature film and television production companies, and others looking to record or license some of the world’s greatest music.

Source: Warner/Chappell Music