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.MUSIC News

Dot-COM era nears an end. The .MUSIC (dotMusic) Top-Level Domain (TLD) Name Extension soon to be a reality

... "The .MUSIC Initiative (http://music.us), is pleased to announce that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Internet’s governing body, has started the process to introduce the .MUSIC Top-Level Domain (TLD) name extension and expand the web with new suffixes to compete with other extensions such as .COM."

...Constantine Roussos, the founder of .MUSIC, states: “This is a monumental day for the Internet and the next wave of its evolution. It is a new chapter for the Internet’s Domain Name System (DNS) and the end of the dot-COM era. We are delighted to have participated extensively in ICANN’s multi-stakeholder model over the last half decade to bring the new TLD program to fruition and congratulate the ICANN Board, Staff and the ICANN community for its commitment to serve the interests of global Internet users".
...

More on Press Release "Dot-COM era nears an end. The .MUSIC (dotMusic) Top-Level Domain (TLD) Name Extension soon to be a reality"

 

Forbes "What New Top-Level Domains Will Succeed" Article on .MUSIC

... "Despite this heat around “.BRAND” extensions and potential .COM competitors, the truth is that community-based TLDs which bring together specific groups under a shared passion or interest (e.g. .ECO, .MUSIC) will likely prove to be more successful and dynamic in the future." ...

..."So, that leads us to the community-based extensions – .ECO, .MUSIC or .NGO, to name just a few. When you mix these extensions’ potential for scale with the dynamism of a community itself, the result will be a completely unique space on the Internet. These communities come with a built-in sense of passion, common interest and drive to promote a cause. By providing them with a unique and targeted place on the Internet, a community-based TLD presents a truly powerful platform for common interest groups to come together and promote their causes. The potential for growth and adoption of these new domains by their respective communities is exponential, which leads me and many other industry insiders to believe they will be more prevalent and successful than their counterparts."...

...More on Forbes "What New Top-Level Domains Will Succeed" article on .MUSIC

 

Hollywood Reporter on .MUSIC

... "So far, the person who has been most vocal about his desire to capture .music, .movie and .film is Constantine Roussos, a co-founder of domain management firm MyTLD.com, who has lobbied for industry support with assurances he'll use those gTLDs as "safe havens for entertainment consumption."

..."Roussos has promised to partner with studios and musicians to ensure they are the only ones given access to their brands. So, for example, he would only sell eagles.music to rock band the Eagles, and batman.movie would go to Warner Bros., home of the Caped Crusader franchise. This, he says, will make it easy for consumers to find official sites and for studios to avoid lengthy URLs such as ironmanmovie.marvel.com and hangovermovie.warnerbros.com."

"People want to know they're at an official site, especially when leaving their e-mail address or credit card number," says Roussos.

...More on Hollywood Reporter article on .MUSIC

 

Los Angeles Times (LA Times) on .MUSIC and ICANN

... "Today's decision will usher in a new Internet age," said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of ICANN's board of directors, in a statement following the group's approval of the expansion Monday in Singapore. "We have provided a platform for the next generation of creativity and inspiration" ...

Constantine Roussos, a Los Angeles entrepreneur, wants to register .MUSIC on behalf of the music industry. Under his plan, only legitimate, professional artists could be approved for a .music suffix. If fans typed in ladygaga.music or queen.music, he says, they would know they were getting authentic sites rather than pirates or imitators that are frequently found in .com and .net domains. "When you buy music, you want it to be a legitimate sale — you want to know the website you're visiting is secure and trusted and it's actually the band," he said, adding that he has spoken to music industry officials...

...More on Los Angeles Times article on .MUSIC and ICANN

 

Billboard: ICANN Ruling Makes .MUSIC Domain Name a Step Closer to Reality

The road towards establishing a .music Internet domain name took a significant step forward with ICANN-the international body governing Internet registries-approving the a program to dramatically expand the types of domain names available.

The most recent move essentially means ICANN will begin accepting applications for new domain names, expanding from the 22 accepted domains today (think .com, .net, .biz, etc) to potentially hundreds more. The applications will be taken starting Jan. 12 through April 12 of next year, with accepted domains going online in late 2013.

Entrepreneur Constantine Roussos has long championed the establishment of a .music domain name, which could be used to establish official web domains for both artists and labels alike (think Rihanna.music) which could be used to differentiate the "official" sites from all the others. Read dotMusic Founder Constantine Roussos explanation of the benefits of the .MUSIC Top-Level Domain for the Music Industry.

Elements of the music industry support the idea of the .music domain name in principal, but are concerned about how it might be administered. Specifically, a group of music organizations that include the RIAA, A2IM, ASCAP and many others want guarantees that they would have the ability to approve who is awarded .music designations so "bad actors" could be excluded.

These and likely other concerns will all be addressed in the two years it will take to establish the .music domain.

...More on the Billboard article "How .MUSIC (dotMusic) can save the music industry" by Constantine Roussos

 

.MUSIC sponsors SXSW: Official SXSW .MUSIC party

A Texas Tornado is twisting towards South By Southwest! Over 7000 people have already RSVPed! .MUSIC in association with Sideways Media, Tijuana Gift Shop and The Force Agency, bring a cyclone of buzzworthy artists on two stages, including:

Augustana, Voxhaul Broadcast, Shayna & The Catch, Robbers On High Street, Brooke Fraser, David Berkley, Headless Horseman, Chapin Sisters, Madison Square Gardeners, The Stone Foxes, and The New Mastersounds.

The event is a benefit for Invisible Children, a movement seeking to end the conflict in Uganda and stop the abduction of children for use as child soldiers. Show your SXSW badge for entry or RSVP to rsvp@tijuanagiftshop.net

Where: Rusty Spurs Location: 405 E. 7th St, Austin, TX Date: Thursday, 17th March, 2011 Time: 12pm onwards

... More Info about .MUSIC (dotMusic) Official SXSW Party

 

Billboard: How .MUSIC can save the music industry

The Internet has truly democratized the manner that music is delivered and consumed with a click of a button. It has leveled the playing field but at the expense of chaos, decentralization and inconsistency.
 
My core vision behind the .MUSIC (dotMusic) Top-Level Domain (TLD) was to solve the inefficiencies that the Internet has created through innovation. My definition of disruptive innovation is bringing together two seemingly unrelated industries together and connect the dots to create shared value and a difference that matters. Organizing the music industry on the web can only be accomplished by utilizing the root of the Internet Domain Name System (DNS). Not only does a .MUSIC Top-Level Domain bring consistency, organization and centralization, it also assures ownership and control still remains in the hands of the music industry.

.MUSIC is being launched as a community-based domain. This means that only members of the music community will be able to register the domain. My decision to launch .MUSIC as an exclusive, community-based domain was strategic and integral to ensuring that .MUSIC websites create a trusted Internet zone for music consumption. An example of a TLD that has enjoyed success using this approach is .EDU for education.....

....More on the Billboard article "How .MUSIC can save the music industry" by Constantine Roussos

 

.MUSIC Domain & Constantine Roussos on the front page of Washington Post

...Constantine Roussos ... a musician ... envisions .music as the industry's trusted inventory of Web sites operated by musicians, managers, studios, promoters, composers and so on. For example, only artists with verifiable professional identities could create sites such as queen.music or pink.music.

Roussos believes the .music domain will help Internet users easily connect to their favorite band's real Web site by typing the name of the band followed by .music on their Web browser; and will help musicians sell their music directly to consumers. Many famous bands - Queen, Kiss, the Eagles - don't own their own .com Web sites because their names use common words, he lamented.

...Roussos believes his model for .music might help the music industry. "When you're searching for Queen and type it into Google, will your results be the Queen of England or the Queen of Denmark?" he asked. "But if you go to queen.music, you know it's the band. It's faster. And it'll drive traffic and more money to the artist."

...... More on the .MUSIC Domain Article on the Washington Post by Ian Shapira

 

.MUSIC Addresses RIAA Concerns: Only verified music community members can register a .MUSIC domain

The dotMusic (.MUSIC) Domain Initiative led by Constantine Roussos voices the same concerns that the RIAA and the Music Coalition expressed to ICANN in regards to transparency and malicious conduct.

"We echo the same concerns that the Music Industry has in regards to piracy and malicious conduct," stated Constantine Roussos. "The launch of .MUSIC will ensure these concerns are completely addressed through efficient registration policy-making and domain name authentication."

".MUSIC is committed in creating value for the music community and making a difference that matters for artists and the music community. By providing a safe haven and a trusted Internet zone for music consumption, the .MUSIC Top-Level Domain will ensure that monies flow directly into the pockets of artists and the music community, not pirates or unlicensed illegitimate websites. The .MUSIC domain will serve as a badge of trust, safety and credibility to music consumers."

"We are standing by our commitment to launch a restrictive, community-based .MUSIC Top-Level Domain in a responsible and safe manner. The .MUSIC domain will be exclusive only to authentic music community members that can be verified through .MUSIC-accredited Community Member Organizations."

"We have been open, transparent and public about the .MUSIC Initiative for years. The significant feedback we received from the music community has been vital to our “bottom-up” policy-making process. For over 2 years, we have embarked upon an extensive, global .MUSIC Communication Outreach Campaign, which will continue through 2011. We are looking forward to more valuable input by the music community to ensure a safe and socially responsible .MUSIC launch."

......Link to the Story..... .MUSIC's Constantine Roussos Addresses RIAA concerns about piracy, malicious conduct and trademark protection

 

.MUSIC in the News

• Los Angeles Times (LA Times) on .MUSIC and ICANN
• Billboard: ICANN Ruling Makes .MUSIC Domain Name a Step Closer to Reality
• Hypebot - Ready to Grab your on .MUSIC Domain Name?
• http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/06/music-domains-coming-soon-for-artists/
• http://business.financialpost.com/2011/06/13/welcome-to-the-dot-anything-age
• http://www.vancouversun.com/business/technology/Internet+domain+suffixes+seen+benefit/4919103/story.html
• http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/06/08/ICANN-Opens-Domain-Names.aspx
• http://www.businessinsider.com/is-the-dot-com-dead-2011-5
• http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2011/06/icann-places-a-risky-bet/
• http://musically.com/blog/2011/06/21/icann-opens-the-way-for-music-domain-names/
• http://www.infoineed.com/technology/internet-technology/no-more-dotcom
• http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/constantine-roussos-guest-post-how-music-1005036342.story
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/06/AR2011020603940_2.html
• http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/02/piracy-havens-music-answers-riaa-concerns-requires-accounts-to-be-verified-like-twitter.html
• http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/music-domain-debate-is-about-control-not-1005013762.story
• http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110121/16003912772/karls-favorite-techdirt-posts-week.shtml
• http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/011911dotmusic
• http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/01/riaa-thinks-music-domains-will-be-piracy-havens.html
• http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2011/01/19/riaa-wants-to-work-with-icann-to-keeo-music-domains-piracy-free
• http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110119/02303312714/riaa-threatening-icann-about-music-claiming-it-will-be-used-to-infringe.shtm
• http://domainincite.com/riaa-threatens-icann-over-new-tlds
• http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-features/53642-riaa-threatens-icann-over-domain-names
• http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110119/02303312714/riaa-threatening-icann-about-music-claiming-it-will-be-used-to-infringe.shtml
• http://www.zeropaid.com/news/92131/riaa-to-icann-music-tlds-better-be-piracy-free/
• http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1938426/content-domain-snatching-easier
• http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/entrepreneurship/2011/02/08/entrepreneurs-gather-for-domain-name-convention-addressing-new-dot-suffixes
• http://www.gearlog.com/2011/01/riaa_up_in_arms_over_music_dom.php
• http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2011/01/big-content-to-icann-make-it-easier-for-us-to-challenge-domain-suffixes.ars
• http://www.p2pon.com/2011/01/20/riaa-shows-its-fangs-to-icann/
• http://www.shareconnector.com/riaa-to-icann-music-tlds-better-be-piracy-free
• http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/01/21/1759207/RIAA-Threatens-ICANN-Over-Music-Themed-gTLD-Standards
• http://www.fullissue.com/index.php/riaa-threatens-icann-over-domain-names.html
• http://www.p2pnet.net/story/47905
• http://battermanlaw.com/blog/2011/01/riaa-really-intent-on-acting-asinine/
• http://www.todayisp.com/news/MessView.net?IDMessage=11235
• http://www.domainnews.com/en/recording-industry-association-of-america-warns-icann-about-.music.html
• http://www.dncrunch.com/?p=9336
• http://encore.celebrityaccess.com/index.php?encoreId=286&articleId=37904
• http://noiseloop.com/node/57802
• http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news_print.php?id=74192
• http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-features/53642-riaa-threatens-icann-over-domain-names
• http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5c545a12-9e4d-42b8-9f0d-37054a86750c
• http://www.trademarkandcopyrightlawblog.com/2011/01/articles/domain-names/riaa-not-keen-on-hearing-the-music
• http://www.domain-recht.de/magazin/domain-news-2011/tlds-neues-von-music-sa-und-emarat-id667894.html
• http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/music-Musikindustrie-droht-ICANN-mit-Klage-1173162.html
• http://www.gulli.com/news/riaa-icann-soll-piraten-keine-domains-mit-musikbezug-geben-2011-01-20
• http://winfuture.de/news,60967.html
• http://www.musikmarkt.de/Aktuell/News/News/Musikindustrie-droht-ICANN-wegen-.music-Domaene-mit-Klage-Freitag-21.-Januar-2011
• http://punto-informatico.it/3073894/PI/News/riaa-guerra-preventiva-ai-domini-pirata.aspx
• http://www.webnews.it/2011/01/21/la-riaa-ha-paura-del-dominio-music/?doing_wp_cron
• http://www.ilgiornaledipozzallo.net/58384/riaa-accusa-icann-di-favorire-la-pirateria-coi-nuovi-domini-previsti/
• http://internet.cnews.ru/news/line/index.shtml?2011/01/21/424205
• http://uinc.ru/news/sn15118.html
• http://elcomercio.pe/tecnologia/703344/noticia-discograficas-quieren-evitar-que-piratas-controlen-dominio-music
• http://www.telegraaf.nl/digitaal/8788509
• http://info.nic.ua/?section=news&cat=1&p=4191
• http://news.ename.cn/domain_news_2011_01_20_26639.html
• http://www.itespresso.de/2011/01/24/musikindustrie-droht-icann-mit-klage-wegen-music/
• http://www.ziare.com/internet-si-tehnologie/internet/noile-domenii-de-pe-internet-incurajeaza-pirateria-1070177

 

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