MusicMatch signs up 4 majors
BMG, U Music, Warner Music, EMI ink with Net tuner
The San Diego-based Net music firm said it has cut nonexclusive pacts with BMG, Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI -- which together rep more than 60% of the global recorded music market. And MusicMatch execs said they're in advanced talks with the lone holdout, Sony Music.
The service, which revamps and expands on MusicMatch's existing Radio MX offering, will let users search for a particular artist or track, then create customized playlists based on search results. The search engine also will return suggestions of similar or related artist selections.
Prexy and operating chief Peter Csathy said the company wanted to take a different route from rival services like PressPlay, FullAudio and MusicNet, which offer mainly downloadable tracks in part because the licenses on offer were not yet comprehensive enough to put together a broader service.
"We've had the same kinds of licensing opportunities as the other companies had, but we still don't think that's the right way to go yet," he said. "Nobody else has the same kind of recommendation capabilities that we do now."
MusicMatch will offer two grades of the service, set to bow in December. The platinum version, offered at $60 a year, will include the new personalized search service, while the gold offering, at $36 annually, is essentially the same as the original Radio MX streaming network.
Company, whose digital jukebox software is installed on 28 million computers worldwide, will continue to offer a selection of free online radio sites.
