Warner/Chappell Music, the publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp., and Microsoft Corp. announced today a worldwide music publishing administration agreement, whereby Warner/Chappell lays claim to compositions for Halo and Halo 2, as well as Age of Empires, Fable, Kameo and other video game franchises. The agreement also includes music in future video games to be published by Microsoft Game Studios, including the upcoming Halo 3 release.

As part of the agreement, which financial terms were not disclosed, Warner/Chappell will claim and register Microsoft-owned copyrights in all territories worldwide, as well as identify and develop new synchronization, performance and other music publishing opportunities for the Microsoft music publishing catalogs.

In making the announcement, Ed Pierson, Executive Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs, Warner/Chappell Music, said, "Warner/Chappell is proud to partner with a technology leader like Microsoft and delighted to be the worldwide publisher for the company's video game music catalog. We're confident we can develop and identify some exciting and unique new licensing opportunities for these well-known game compositions."

"We have developed a large library of video game music and are excited to make it available for placement beyond games," said Ed Ventura, Senior Director of the Franchise Development Group in the Interactive Entertainment Division. "By partnering with Warner/Chappell, we can continue to extend the value and experiences for our music and also inspire and give further recognition to the composers who are dedicated to working on video games."