Publishing major Warner/Chappell has entered into a deal with ad-funded download enterprise SprialFrog, giving the digital venture rights to make songs in its catalogue available to its users. Confirming the deal, Warner/Chappell Exec VP Ann Sweeney told reporters: "We are continually seeking out new revenue streams for our artists and songwriters and want to support innovative new distribution methods. We hope our premiere catalogue of classic and contemporary songs finds a wider audience on SpiralFrog's growing digital platform".
SpiralFrog, meanwhile, has claimed to be the third biggest player in the US download market, based on the fact it has signed up 850,000 users since its launch in America last September. The ad-funded service obviously thinks claiming third place is safe - as previously reported, there is some disagreement as to whether Amazon or eMusic can claim second place in the US digital music space after iTunes - a debate confused by the fact some reckon Real Networks' Rhapsody service is actually second biggest in America. In reality, the differences in the business models of these competing services coupled with the fact that there is no independent measurement system means it's pretty hard to know how big any one download service is in relation to another, other than that Apple's iTunes is much much bigger than everyone else.