PUMP AUDIO AND CREATIVE COMMONS COLLABORATE ON COMMERCIAL LICENSING FOR INDEPENDENT MUSICIANS

Hudson Valley, NY and San Francisco, CA – December 12, 2006 – Pump Audio, the leading provider of quality independent music to content creators globally, today announced that it has teamed up with Creative Commons to expand and promote fair commercial licensing options for artists worldwide. Pump Audio is offering a variety of Creative Commons copyright licenses to its independent musicians who want to allow various forms of non-commercial use of their music.

“Creative Commons and Pump Audio share a common goal of giving artists the freedom to license their creative works as they see fit,” said Steve Ellis, founder and CEO of Pump Audio. “Pump Audio is all about giving independent musicians a
fair deal by connecting them with the producers in TV, advertising, and the Web who are clamoring for original and legal music to accompany their creations. By working with Creative Commons, we can provide even more independent musicians with greater commercial licensing options for their music.”

As part of the collaboration, Pump Audio has introduced an online badge for artists, allowing them to designate on any Web page, artist blog, or MySpace profile that their music is available for commercial licensing through Pump Audio. Artists can pair their new Pump Audio badges with similar badges for their Creative Commons copyright licenses, enabling them to promote both their commercial and non-commercial licensing preferences. (Examples can be found at lovetheory.com/listenbuy.html and myspace.com/garynewvision).

“The goal of Creative Commons is to provide authors and artists with easy ways to mark their creative work with the freedom they intend it to carry,” said Lawrence Lessig, Creative Commons’ CEO. “We’re incredibly excited to work with Pump Audio to offer independent musicians a fair and innovative licensing option for the commercial use of their music in both traditional and online media.”

Under Pump Audio’s artist-friendly system, licensing revenues are split equally with musicians, and the artists retain complete ownership over their music. Pump Audio helps independent musicians license their music to traditional producers in TV, advertising and interactive media through the PumpBox, its advanced search software and delivery system, as well as to content creators of all types through Pump Audio’s Soundtrack service on the Web. Pump Audio’s production customers include MTV Networks, NBC Studios, HBO, New Line Cinema and advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.

Creative Commons copyright licenses allow authors and artists to mark their works as free to copy or transform under certain conditions — to declare “some rights reserved,” in contrast to the traditional “all rights reserved” — thereby enabling others to access a growing pool of raw materials without legal friction.

About Pump Audio

Pump Audio licenses the world’s best independent music to content creators worldwide. Founded in 2001, Pump Audio has established itself as a leading provider of digital music for TV and advertising producers. Now Pump Audio is becoming the soundtrack of the Internet, opening Web access to its catalog of tens of thousands of songs so creators of all types can build music into their video and interactive productions. With Pump Audio, artists can license their music into productions without giving up any ownership, while content creators can discover new music ready for use. Based in the Hudson Valley, Pump Audio can be found at pumpaudio.com.

About Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 2001, that promotes the creative re-use of intellectual and artistic works—whether owned or in the public domain. Creative Commons licences provide a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors, artists, and educators that build upon the “all rights reserved” concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary “some rights reserved” approach. It is sustained by the generous support of various organizations including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Omidyar Network, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation as well as members of the public. For general information, visit creativecommons.org.

Contact

Matt Hicks
SutherlandGold Group for Pump Audio
415-722-3603
Email

Eric Steuer
Creative Director, Creative Commons
Email

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