The Associated Press
reports today that Google Inc. has agreed to a broad licensing deal with representatives of European music publishers, artists and composers.
Per the report, the agreement with Armonia, the alliance of French, Italian, and Spanish licensing groups, will grant Google customers access to 5.5 million musical works across 35 countries.
While rivals Apple and Amazon have licensing agreements from country to country, Google's deal represents the broadest of its kind, achieved at comparable royalty rates in line with industry standards. The deal will also include the British and American repertoire of Universal Music Publishing and Sony's Latin works, the AP reports.