DotMusic beats Google, Amazon to win .music domain

DotMusic Limited has won an eleven-year legal battle to gain rights to the .music top-level domain (TLD), beating the likes of Google and Amazon, as well as leading domain registries.

DotMusic founder and chief executive Constantine Roussos announced on Friday that his company had won the rights to the TLD, having first submitted an application to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 2012.

“Excited to announce that after more than a decade, DotMusic has prevailed and will be the .music registry,” says Roussos in a Twitter post.

Roussos plans to launch the .music domain as a protected, exclusive  online space for the global music community and industry. He aims to  combat piracy and domain squatters who register trademarked domain names to profit from the traffic it receives or plan to sell the domain to the trademark owner at inflated prices.

“[I am] excited to announce that after more than a decade, DotMusic has prevailed and will be the .music registry”

“The .music registry will work closely with the global music community and the .music governance board to prepare for the safe, responsible and prudent launch of .music,” says DotMusic.

The company states that it will use “music-tailored policies to ensure that music artists, bands, industry professionals and organisations register a trusted, secure and verified .music domain,” creating domain identities similar to those ending in .edu or .gov.

Domains will become available in three phases. The first phase will make the .music TLD available only to verified trademark holders within the music industry, with a second phase accepting registrations from members of the Music Community Members Organisation (MCMO).

The final phase will open up applications to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis. A strict verification process will be enforced to ensure the security and integrity of the domain.

.music will launch in 2020.

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