BMG
continues it’s acquisition of Internet music properties.
As the race to own digital distribution on the net races
along (AOL/Timewarner, Universal/Getmusic.com and Mp3.com)
BMG entered the digital music scene early last year when
the German giant announced that it would purchase the ailing
music website, CDnow. After selling a stake in Getmusic.com
that it held jointly with Universal Records, the company
set it’s sights on the embattled song swapping service,
Napster. Napster, which is close to settling lawsuits from
3 major labels as well as the RIAA and various Indies, sold
an undisclosed amount of the company to BMG late last year.
Now add to the
companies roster of digital companies myplay.com, which
BMG will shell out $30 million to own. Myplay was launched
in 1999, and allows users to store their digital music files.
The company recently laid of 31 employees. The remaining
employees will work for a new company BMG is creating called
Bemusic, which will attempt to consolidate the companies
Internet holdings.
Everything isn’t
great for BMG, whose chairman recently proclaimed the company
would make no money this year. The label lost its Canadian
distribution deal with Zomba Group’s Jive Records – and
the U.S. could be next.
That means the
German music giant will now lose the right to distribute
such superstars as the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and Britney
Spears in Canada. Industry speculators are betting that
Zomba Chairman Clive Calder will sign a new Canadian distribution
deal with the EMI Group, which already handles Jive releases
in Latin America and part of Europe.