Rap Genius Signs Deal With Warner/Chappell Publishing
Lyrical annotation site Rap Genius has signed a deal with music publisher Warner/Chappell. Rap Genius now has deals with the three largest publishers in music after a fight that found them at odds with the National Music Publishers Association.
The NMPA considered Rap Genius the “worst offender” in illegal lyric publishing and issued takedown notices last November against the site.
Sony/ATV and Universal Music Publishing came to agreements with the site in late 2013 and early 2014.
The site's founder Rap Genius co-founder Ilan Zechory spoke on the new deal. “Warner/Chappell’s songwriters are unbelievably popular and we will help them connect with their most obsessed fans. Warner/Chappell Music goes back more than 200 years — we think this partnership will last at least another 200.”
Launched by three Yale graduates in 2009, Rap Genius received $15 million in venture capital in 2012.
In early 2014 the site released their IPhone app that allows users the functionality of the website and finds lyrics for songs playing in the users vicinity.
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