Digital Top Stories

Warner sign up to eMusic

By | Published on Wednesday 13 January 2010

Warner Music is the second major record company to announce a licensing deal with subscription-based download platform eMusic, albeit initially in the US only.

As previously reported, Sony Music started making some of its archive catalogue available to eMusic members last year. Prior to that the digital service only carried music from independent record companies. This was partly because eMusic has provided users with digital rights management free MP3s from the word go, and for years the majors refused to sell their music in such a format.

Since the whole record industry opted for DRM-free downloading in 2008 the majors have presumably being weighing up eMusic’s price point. Because the service basically sells MP3s in bulk, by charging a monthly subscription that enables a set number of downloads, their price point is lower than that of a la carte download services like iTunes.

Of course eMusic has always positioned itself as the real music lover’s download service, so arguably most of its users are more interested in less mainstream music. Though, of course, all the majors have lots of less mainstream music in their catalogues, so the addition of selected Sony and Warner tracks certainly adds value to eMusic’s wider consumer proposition.

Music from Warner labels Atlantic, Rhino and Warner Bros, plus indie labels distributed by Warner and not currently signed up to eMusic, will start to appear on the US version of the download club as a result of the new deal.

Confirming the arrangement, Warner Music’s SVP Digital Strategy, Stephen Bryan, told reporters: “As a leader in the music industry’s transition to a predominantly digital music business, we have worked hard to encourage and support innovative partners and creative business models that offer our artists unique ways to reach their fans. We are pleased to be making our music available to eMusic’s passionate membership”.



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