One license will be valid for all 18 member countries:

This replaces the current system where broadcasters need to secure a license from each national copyright administration and collecting societies, it said.

"The creation of a legitimate marketplace for so-called simulcasting will benefit both consumers and rights-holders," said EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti.

Simulcasting is a practice where radio and television broadcasters send their programs via the Internet along with traditional terrestrial or cable transmission.

"Consumers will be able to access their favorite radio and/or TV music programs from virtually anywhere in the world," Monti said in the statement.

At present, simulcasting requires broadcasters to obtain international licenses from music rights owners.

The new marketplace will extend to all 15 nations of the European Union (news - web sites) and to the neighboring European Economic Area (EEA), which includes Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

The agreement also includes collecting societies from central and eastern Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand.

The Commission said this was its first decision concerning the collective management and copyright licensing for the purposes of commercial exploitation of musical works on the Internet.

Broadcasters whose signals originated in an EU member state would now be able, for the first time, to approach any EEA-based collecting society for a simulcast license, it said. At present, they must obtain a license from the local collecting society in every country where their Internet transmissions are accessed....