Level domain FINALLY launches — .Music top

.Music hits sunrise today.

The long and winding road to the .music top level domain name has hit a significant milestone: sunrise.

Following years and years of fights between applicants for the top level domain, Constantine Roussos’ DotMusic won the .music domain contention set in 2019. The assumption was that the domain would quickly go to market.

Alas, it took another four years.

Sunrise for the heavily-restricted domain kicked off today and runs through November 15.

Following sunrise, a “Music Community Organization Phase” will run from October 16 to March 10. During this time, music organizations can apply to register their names in .music. Applications are made at registry.music, and successful applicants will be given a code to register the domain at a domain registrar of their choice.

General availability will begin on April 9, 2024. But ahead of you prep a list of .music domains to acquire, know that domain investors are not welcome. .Music registrants must have a nexus to the music community, and the registry isn’t taking this policy lightly.

Following registering a domain, registrants must submit information at id.music to verify their music bonafides. The registry will generate a “music score” to measure qualifications. Domains will remain on server hold until the registry validates rights to register the domain.

It’s all rather complicated, but the bottom line is that only musicians, labels, and other groups connected to music can register .music domains.

As for pricing, 101Domain has priced registrations around $60 per year. It compiled a handy guide explaining the registration phases and benefits of .music domains.