Official Launch Date Set for First Free, Legal Tablature Social Network

MADISON, Wis. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) May 28, 2008 -- Musicnotes, Inc. announced today it has recently reached new agreements with music publishers Alfred Publishing, EMI Christian Music Group (EMI CMG), Sony/ATV and several additional publishers and administrators to make guitar, bass and drum tablature for songs in their catalogs available on MXTabs.net.

We are thrilled that MXTabs.net has become a legitimate outlet for the distribution of guitar tabs and we're excited about the new opportunities it will create for our songwriters

Alfred is excited to partner with Musicnotes to help provide thousands of musicians with a legal way to obtain guitar, bass, and drum tabs on the MXTabs.net site

We are always eager to embark on new partnerships which allow us to embrace new business models that better represent our large roster of artists and their copyrights. It is through these endeavors that we can empower a new generation of customers to learn, teach and play music.

EMI CMG Publishing has been very pleased with Musicnotes' forward-thinking action plans and growth. They really understand this digital space

MXTabs.net is a brave endeavor on their part and a model whose time has come to be tested. EMI CMG Publishing is excited to include our catalog of songs in the launch of MXTabs.net.

Under the new agreements, guitar and drum tablature (a form of music notation, commonly referred to as “tabs”) for songs written by artists and songwriters from these catalogs are made freely available for download at the MXTabs.net social community web site. The tabs for the songs are created and shared by the users of the site, with a focus on a free and legal distribution of knowledge and information. Publishers and songwriters are paid for their intellectual property through an advertising revenue-share model.

Over 35,000 user-generated tabs are currently available at MXTabs.net in its alpha test phase, with thousands more added each week. With these new agreements the site is expected to offer more than 50,000 tabs for its July 2008 launch date, with tabs for songs from artists of all genres including The Beatles, The Eagles, Eric Clapton, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Marilyn Manson, Led Zeppelin, Marilyn Manson, REO Speedwagon, Santana, Wilco and more. EMI CMG Publishing brings tabs for songs from Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, Kirk Franklin, Relient K, Steven Curtis Chapman, Switchfoot, Third Day, Toby Mac and the Passion and Worship Together catalogs.

“We are thrilled that MXTabs.net has become a legitimate outlet for the distribution of guitar tabs and we’re excited about the new opportunities it will create for our songwriters,” says Peter Brodsky, EVP Business and Legal Affairs for Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

“Alfred is excited to partner with Musicnotes to help provide thousands of musicians with a legal way to obtain guitar, bass, and drum tabs on the MXTabs.net site,” said Steven Manus, Alfred's CEO. “We are always eager to embark on new partnerships which allow us to embrace new business models that better represent our large roster of artists and their copyrights. It is through these endeavors that we can empower a new generation of customers to learn, teach and play music.”

“EMI CMG Publishing has been very pleased with Musicnotes’ forward-thinking action plans and growth. They really understand this digital space,” says Casey McGinty, Sr. V.P. at EMI CMG Publishing. “MXTabs.net is a brave endeavor on their part and a model whose time has come to be tested. EMI CMG Publishing is excited to include our catalog of songs in the launch of MXTabs.net.”

In addition to Sony/ATV, Alfred Publishing and EMI CMG, MXTabs has also recently signed license agreements with publishers Horipro music (including REO Speedwagon and Marilyn Manson), Who Is She Music (Phish), Simpleville Music (MercyMe, The Afters) and Craig Wiseman’s publishing administration company, Big Loud Bucks. These publishers join Famous Music (now a part of Sony/ATV), BMG/Zomba (now a part of Universal Music Publishing), peermusic, BUG Music, and thousands more publishers who have signed on to MXTabs through the Harry Fox Agency.

An official launch date for MXTabs.net, the world’s first free, legal music tablature social network has also been set for July 1, 2008. Although the web site has been open in an alpha phase, with limited content and functionality since early in 2008, July 1^st will mark the official launch of the site, featuring additional content, worldwide availability of tabs and a full roster of social networking tools designed specifically with musicians in mind.

To see a sneak preview or for information on how to participate, publishers and administrators are encouraged to visit the in-progress alpha version of the site at www.mxtabs.net.

About MXTabs.net: MXTabs.net is the first legitimately licensed online social community designed to provide musicians with access to free guitar, bass and drum tablature, while also compensating music publishers and songwriters through a share of advertising revenue. Originally launched in 1999, MXTabs was one of the first, largest and most popular destinations for freely available online tabs. In 2006 the site voluntarily closed its doors due to issues of copyright, and the assets have since been acquired by Musicnotes, Inc.

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mxtabs music publishing emi_cmg alfred publishers legal tablature launch social

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