A venture shared by record label EMI the Echo Nest will see Echo Nest hosting ‘sandboxes’ where app developers can access EMI content including music, videos and artwork.

The move offers to simplify music licensing and ‘generate interesting and exciting app ideas that both the creator and EMI can make money from’.

Jim Brady, EMI’s executive VP for strategy and insight, told Wired.co.uk: ‘We’ve looked at how best we can improve the process of creating new music applications and the OpenEMI sandbox we have built together as a result is a fantastic resource for tapping the passion and innovation of the best developers in the world.’ The Echo Nest’s CEO, Jim Lucapichese, added: ‘Application developers are the future of the music business – they are the creative architects reshaping the role music plays in our lives.’

‘Application developers are the future of the music business,’ Lucapichese told Music Week. ‘They are the creative architects reshaping the role music plays in our lives. By taking on responsibilities around licensing and putting EMI’s marketing muscle behind these applications, OpenEMI is directly addressing these pain points and fostering a more collaborative environment between the established music industry and its future.’

Developers are required to register for an API key, and then pass finished apps to EMI and the Echo Nest. Approved apps will then be released onto the web, iPhone, iPad and Android by EMI, with developers retaining intellectual property rights. Both free and paid-for app proposals will be accepted, with a 60/40 revenue share between EMI and the Echo Nest, with Echo Nest passing royalites to the developer.

More: www.emimusic.com/tag/openemi