Of course, another area major music firms like EMI should be moving into is merchandising, and EMI et al need to move quickly in that domain otherwise Universal is going to sew up the market.
Having bought out the struggling Sanctuary Music Group last year mainly in a bid to get control of its management and merchandising businesses, the major has just announced it has bought Atmosphere Apparel, a UK based company that holds international merchandising rights for artists like Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bryan Adams, Def Leppard, Rage Against The Machine and Lostprophets, among others. Atmosphere Apparel will, Universal say, continue to operate as an autonomous concern, and will still be MDed by its founder, Mark Stredwick.
Universal Music International boss Lucian Grainge says this: "Atmosphere is a dynamic, innovative player in music and entertainment merchandising, and we're very pleased to be in this new partnership with Mark. With plans for investment and growth, Universal Music Group's deepening commitment to merchandising in both the touring and retail sectors is good news for all artists, brands and entertainers signed to it".
While Stredwick added: "The acquisition of Atmosphere by a company of the stature of UMG is extremely exciting, and the deal allows us to maintain our reputation as a truly artist-friendly merchandise company, whilst benefiting from the global expertise of UMG's distribution network".