Sockfulloflove
November 6th, 2002, 08:59 PM
LONDON--OD2, the British technology company co-founded by recording artist Peter Gabriel, has signed a licensing agreement to distribute songs from Universal Music Group to a variety of European Web sites, the companies said Monday.
The agreement gives OD2 access to 50,000 songs from Universal's repertoire including Eminem, Sting and jazz legend Louis Armstrong, bringing the total in OD2's library to 150,000 tracks.
Universal, a division of Franco-American media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, is the fourth major music label to partner with OD2.
Universal, along with the other major labels, have been beset by digital piracy over the past two years. The major labels blame free download sites such as Kazaa and Grokster for a sharp decline in the sale of recorded music. The majors have fought back in the past year, offering their music in a piecemeal fashion to a variety of subscription-based Internet download services including industry-backed services PressPlay and MusicNet in an effort to cash in on the craze for downloading music off the Internet.
Under the terms of the deal, select Universal tracks will be available for an undisclosed fee from mid-November on OD2's partner sites, including HMV.co.uk, Microsoft's portal MSN.co.uk and British Internet service provider, Freeserve.co.uk.
Consumers in Western Europe, with the exception of France, will be eligible to download the Universal tracks.
OD2 has similar deals to distribute tracks from Warner Music Group, BMG Entertainment and EMI Recorded Music.
OD2 made a name for itself last month when it launched a promotion called Digital Download Day, in which it gave away 5 British pounds worth of free downloads to European consumers who tried out its partners' sites.
The sites were swamped with traffic during the promotional period. The company has not disclosed the number of consumers who participated in the promotion, saying only that it exceeded their "wildest" estimates.
The agreement gives OD2 access to 50,000 songs from Universal's repertoire including Eminem, Sting and jazz legend Louis Armstrong, bringing the total in OD2's library to 150,000 tracks.
Universal, a division of Franco-American media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, is the fourth major music label to partner with OD2.
Universal, along with the other major labels, have been beset by digital piracy over the past two years. The major labels blame free download sites such as Kazaa and Grokster for a sharp decline in the sale of recorded music. The majors have fought back in the past year, offering their music in a piecemeal fashion to a variety of subscription-based Internet download services including industry-backed services PressPlay and MusicNet in an effort to cash in on the craze for downloading music off the Internet.
Under the terms of the deal, select Universal tracks will be available for an undisclosed fee from mid-November on OD2's partner sites, including HMV.co.uk, Microsoft's portal MSN.co.uk and British Internet service provider, Freeserve.co.uk.
Consumers in Western Europe, with the exception of France, will be eligible to download the Universal tracks.
OD2 has similar deals to distribute tracks from Warner Music Group, BMG Entertainment and EMI Recorded Music.
OD2 made a name for itself last month when it launched a promotion called Digital Download Day, in which it gave away 5 British pounds worth of free downloads to European consumers who tried out its partners' sites.
The sites were swamped with traffic during the promotional period. The company has not disclosed the number of consumers who participated in the promotion, saying only that it exceeded their "wildest" estimates.