Musicmaker.Com Licenses Music From Zomba Group

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Sep 02, 2099 Source: Reuters Submitted By: CHiQ728@aol.com NEW YORK (Reuters) - Custom CD maker Musicmaker.com Inc. said it has set a licensing pact with Zomba Group which gives Musicmaker access to songs by popular Zomba artists, including R. Kelly, the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. Reston, Virginia-based Musicmaker said Monday that the five-year pact is exclusive and that Zomba has taken an undisclosed equity stake in Musicmaker. Additional financial terms were not disclosed. The Web-based custom CD maker has already inked alliances with more than 100 record labels, and has a roster of about 200,000 songs from which customers can put together on a CD. The partnership will add thousands of tracks from Zomba owned labels, they said. The Zomba Group of Cos., headquartered in New York and London, is the world's largest independent music organization with $800 million in annual revenues. The deal provides the Zomba labels with the ability to offer secure digital downloading of selected artists once an industry standard is recommended through the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), which is expected later this year. The agreement follows an exclusive pact with EMI Recorded Music signed in June, under which some 500,000 tunes will be licensed to Musicmaker, including works from Luther Vandross, Cher, NWA and Mel Torme. EMI took a 40 percent stake in Musicmaker. Shares of Musicmaker edged down 29/32 to 11-27/32 Tuesday Comment on this item. Next Item: BMG Scores All-Time High In U.S. Prev Item: September Newsletter From the Backstreet Boys