Streaming Music from India to the U.S.

Rediff.com India Limited, an Indian Internet portal focusing on India and the global Indian community, announced a streaming media initiative to offer a selection of Indian songs to listeners in U.S. on Rediff Radio (radio.rediff.com).

Rediff.com has obtained licenses from Phonographic Performance Ltd. (PPL) under the aegis of the Indian Music Industry Association (IMI) and the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS). Both PPL and IPRS are copyright societies registered with the Government of India.

Rediff Radio has been developed using in-house technology, and according to the company, is one of India's first sites to have the official licenses for providing this service.

"We are please to have a licensing arrangement with PPL to provide the some of the best of Indian music to our users worldwide within the existing regulatory framework. We believe this relationship will allow both of us to mutually exploit the true potential of the Internet to our mutual benefit. We consider this to be the beginning of a new era for the music industry in the digital economy,'' said Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan, chairman and CEO, Rediff.com India Limited in statement.

According to the company, the Indian Music Industry (IMI), an association of music companies in India, has taken the initiative to be one of the first bodies in the world to formulate a scheme of collective webcasting license.