Sony back catalogue comes to eMusic

Sony Music and eMusic, in a joint statement, said that songs at least two years old from Sony Music artists could be purchased by US eMusic subscribers starting in the third quarter of the year.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Sony Music labels include Arista, Columbia, Epic, Jive, LaFace, Legacy Recordings and RCA and the artists whose songs will be available for purchase through New York-based eMusic include Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Jeff Buckley, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen and OutKast.

"We're excited to bring Sony Music's vast catalogue of music to eMusic's customers," eMusic chief executive and chairman Danny Stein said.

"We welcome the opportunity to expand the reach of Sony Music catalogue artists online to include eMusic's large and passionate subscriber base," said Thomas Hesse, a Sony Music executive.

EMusic, launched in 1998, allows subscribers to download a certain number of music tracks a month for a set fee.

Its basic service allows subscribers to download 24 songs a month for US$11.99, less than the price charged per song by Apple's iTunes.

EMusic claims on its website to have a catalogue of more than five million music tracks.

Source: AFP

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