LyricFind locks down exclusive third-party right to license UMPG lyrics

LyricFind, founded in 2004 and the leading database and licensing resource for song lyrics, announced an exclusive business relationship with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). In the deal, LyricFind becomes the exclusive third-party administrator of licenses for UMPG lyrics. UMPG retains the right to cut its own licensing deals directly, but LyricFind now owns the market for third-party licensing.

The deal gives LyricFind the right to freely obtain and reproduce UMPG lyrics on its own site, and also the sole right to license that sort of use to other music services. LyricFind’s existing client roster includes Amazon, Pandora, Shazam, SoundHound, HTC, and Nokia.

It is easy to forget that lyrics are an important part of music’s metadata if you spend time in on-demand music services like Spotify or Rhapsody, where music discovery is generally governed by the artist/song/album template. LyricFind founder Darryl Ballantyne told RAIN that searches for lyrics in Google and other search engines represent one of the world’s most popular search queries. In the UMPG press release, Ballantyne said, “We’ve seen increased integration of lyrics into websites, music services and applications since we first launched in 2004.”

In the terms of the UMPG deal, LyricFind will share revenue from sub-licensing with UMPG songwriters.