Apple Hires Key Digital Music Industry Legal Executive

Eliott Peters (center) at Columbia Law School event
Billboard reports that Apple has hired Elliott Peters, a senior vice president and head of digital legal affairs at Warner Music Group, to manage the company's legal team overseeing iTunes and MobileMe services in Europe.

According to an internal memo obtained by Billboard, Peters is taking on the role of corporate attorney director for iTunes Europe and Internet services, based in Luxembourg, where he will manage the European legal team for iTunes and MobileMe services. He's been with WMG since 2000.

According to the memo, Peters has "had a hand in almost every major WMG digital deal" since his appointment as the company's first digital lawyer in 2003.

Apple will almost certainly be able to draw on Peters' experience and connections as it reportedly continues to work toward a cloud-based iTunes, allowing users the ability to store their iTunes libraries on Apple's servers and stream them to a variety of Internet-connected devices. Major music labels have reportedly balked at Apple's plans, arguing that such a use is not permitted under current licensing deals and maintaining the position that cloud-based music hosting should come with an increase in the compensation they receive from Apple for iTunes Store sales.