Pan-European licensing has made a big breakthrough, with ICE – the new music licensing and royalty processing service formed by collection societies PRS For Music, STIM and GEMA – signing its first licensing agreement with digital giant Google Play Music.

ICE Services CEO Robert Ashcroft, also PRS For Music CEO, told Music Week the deal was “a significant moment for the market”.

“Google Play have supported the concept of ICE from the outset and helped with the testing of the ...