EMI Signs Web Deal With Musicmaker
EMI Recorded Music, one of the world’s major music companies, and Internet music retailer Musicmaker.com Inc. on Thursday forged a deal to offer EMI’s catalog of music on Musicmaker’s Web site.
The pact also calls for EMI to acquire a 50% equity stake in Musicmaker. EMI said there is no cash element to the deal.
The five-year licensing agreement allows for EMI’s music catalog, which comprises hundreds of thousands of songs, to be added to Musicmaker’s catalog of digital music files.
The pact is yet another in a series of deals being struck between traditional music industry powers and the grass-roots music movement that is sweeping the Internet.
Musicmaker filed for a $30-million initial public offering in February but postponed the offering in April pending talks with a major music entertainment company.
Bob Bernardi, chairman and chief executive of Musicmaker, said Thursday that the company plans to move forward with its IPO, and said it will file an amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission early next week.
He said he expects the offering to go through by the end of June.
Musicmaker’s site allows users to compile customized collections of music from a variety of artists.
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