Two music industry groups have formally agreed on the fees they will set for copyrights and music delivery over the Internet, the groups said Thursday.
The agreements were struck between the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), the nation's sole manager of music-related copyrights, and the Network Music Rights Conference, a body formed by Internet service providers, telecommunication firms and record companies.
Temporary agreements reached by the groups in December 1998 and extended in March this year were set to expire on Sept. 30. The agreements will make it easier to sell digital music data over the Internet in such formats as MIDI or those that enable music to be played on cellphones, the two groups said.