Musicnotes brings back MXTabs as site for legal guitar music downloads
Guitar sheet music site MXTabs.net will strum a new tune—a licensed, legal one—when it re-emerges this summer as an online advertising-supported site operated as a unit of its new parent, Musicnotes Inc.
Musicnotes, No. 487 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, acquired MXTabs late last month. Terms were not disclosed, but MXTabs will operate as part of Guitar Tabs LLC, a Musicnotes subsidiary.
Until it shut down last summer under copyright pressure from the music industry, MXTabs had offered digital versions of guitar sheet music, or tablature, without gaining proper licensing from the producers of the music, Musicnotes says. As part of its plan to bring back MXTabs as a provider of licensed material, Musicnotes last week entered into a licensing agreement with The Harry Fox Agency Inc., which handles licensing for more than 31,000 music publishers. Under the terms of the agreement, publishers will share in the online advertising revenue associated with downloads of their music tabs.
“We are excited to have the technology and the expertise to assist publishers and songwriters in monetizing this burgeoning area of interest among musicians which, until now, has largely not been served in this way,” says Kathleen Marsh, CEO of Musicnotes. “Our experience as the world’s leading digital sheet music company has placed us in a unique position to deliver this guitar tablature to millions of interested consumers.”
“Musicnotes proves the viability of a copyright-friendly, ad-supported guitar tab website,” says Gary Churgin, HFA president and CEO. “HFA has expanded its licensing and royalty distribution capabilities to support this kind of service, and we will continue to adapt to new licensing opportunities and models such as this to provide the most comprehensive service for our publishers.”
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