BRUSSELS, Belgium – EU regulators ordered music copyright groups on Wednesday to end a system that makes it difficult for online music stores to buy EU-wide licenses – knocking down a major obstacle to iTunes' rollout across Europe.

Internet music downloads in Europe lag behind those in the United States, pulling in just a fraction of revenues the record industry is losing from falling CD sales.

Part of the problem in Europe is that music rights are sold separately in each country, which has prevented Apple Inc.'s iTunes from setting up a single store from which it can service all of Europe. Instead, it has had to seek licenses from each EU member state in which it wishes to sell.

The European Commission told music copyright groups – also called collecting societies – to end a system of contracts that allow artists to collect payments only from an agency based in their own country.

The change should also help users get EU-wide broadcast licenses for the Internet, cable television and satellite for several countries by using just one collecting society of their choice, the EU said.

Regulators said they wanted the national collecting societies to compete across Europe, saying having to prove the quality of their services and administrative costs should make them more efficient.

The EU executive found the 24 European collecting societies guilty of breaking EU antitrust rules, but did not impose any fines. The collecting societies are members of CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors of Composers.

EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said ending of CISAC's sales restrictions would not affect the amount of royalties artists' received or the range of music available for sale.

The European Commission started investigating CISAC's agreements after complaints from satellite broadcaster RTL and British online music store Music Choice.

European artists have claimed that selling music rights EU-wide might reduce the royalties they depend on. They threatened that any major EU-ordered reform would lead them to refuse to allow their work to be played.

More than 220 singers, musicians and composers – including the Bee Gees' Robin Gibb, Charles Aznavour, Sade, David Gilmour, Julio Iglesias, Maurice Jarre, Mark Knopfler and Michel Legrand – have signed an appeal to the EU saying pan-European music licensing will stifle creativity.

Musicians make money from their music after they register copyrights with collective rights managers. Those managers then license songs to online services, radio stations, nightclubs and other outlets.