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European Commission Tuesday said that key companies involved in online music sales have pledged to improve consumer access to online songs.

During a meeting with the commission to discus online music, the companies, including Amazon (AMZN), EMI, Apple inc.'s (AAPL) iTunes, Nokia (NOK1V.HE), Universal Music Group and music rights collecting societies from the U.K, Spain and France, announced a number of concrete steps that should give European consumers better access to online music, according to the commission.

Because current music licensing mechanism in Europe differs from country to country and is generally too complex, stakeholders are missing out on opportunities in the digital world, the commission said.

Simpler licensing solutions have the potential to expand the market and bring new and more innovative online music offerings to a broader range of European consumers, whilst safeguarding authors' interests.

The companies have agreed to pursue a new EU licensing platform bringing together repertoires from several national collecting societes, the commission said.

-By Peppi Kiviniemi, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 (0)2 741 1 483; peppi.kiviniemi@dowjones.com