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Although it appeared that RapGenius.com, the popular Hip-Hop hub for lyrics, was in a bit of hot water with an industry enforcer, they seem to have their bases covered with a new venture with Sony/ATV Music, Billboard reports.

In a statement, Martin Bandier, chairman & CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, acknowledged Rap Genius’s ability to connect songwriters and music fans “in a new and exciting way.” Rap Genius isn’t the typical lyric site. Self-described as “a hip-hop Wikipedia,” Rap Genius allows contributes to create pages for songs, add song lyrics and offer insights and commentary through the site’s main feature, annotations.

Other licensing deals could be on the way. In a statement, Rap Genius co-founder Tom Lehman referred the conversations with other music publishers and said site’s relationship with artists “will only grow stronger” as more publishers deals are reached.

Last week it was reported that the National Music Publishers Association issued a citation to the New York-based website along with 49 other sites for the improper storage of song lyrics. It’s been reported that the Sony/ATV deal was finalized at the beginning of the year, and RapGenius and Sony appear to both be sastisfied.

With RapGenius being among the biggest of sites named in the notice, it should be interesting to see if the other outlets can piece together a deal that will allow them to conduct business as usual.

Photo: Mark Ostow