Slacker Finalizes Deals with EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music
Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner/Chappell Music
to Enable Slacker Personal Radio Experience
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – April 8, 2008 – Slacker, Inc. today announced it
has entered into agreements with top music publishers, including EMI
Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Universal Music
Publishing Group and Warner/Chappell Music. The new deals give Slacker
the content rights to enable Personal Radio that can be played
everywhere on Slacker Portable Radio Players.
With these publishing license agreements, Slacker users can transfer
songs from the Slacker service and store the music on Slacker
Portables giving listeners the best on-the-go personal radio
experience available today. The agreements, completed prior to the
availability of Slacker Portables, also enable Slacker Premium Service
customers to save songs and replay them whenever they want.
“By working with the publishers, we can offer a radio experience that
is more personalized and – for the first time – completely portable,”
said Dennis Mudd, CEO of Slacker. “These new partnerships give Slacker
customers the freedom to customize personal radio stations to their
style and take them wherever they go.”
Slacker Personal Radio enables listeners to create, edit and share
their own stations or personalize over 100 professionally programmed
stations. Slacker listeners also have easy access to artist profiles,
album reviews and cover art within the Slacker Web Player, Software
Player and on the Slacker Portable. Personalization options include
rating songs or artists, playing more popular vs. more eclectic music
and listening to newer vs. classic songs.
“As publishers, we must continue to be flexible and open to new
business models and find creative solutions to license them,” said
David Renzer, Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group.
“Credit to Slacker for making sure they secured the proper rights
before launching and we look forward to distributing royalty checks
from Slacker to our UMPG songwriters.”
“People who love music want to discover new artists, listen to their
favorites and take their songs with them wherever they go,” said Roger
Faxon, EMI Music Publishing Chairman and CEO. “Slacker’s Personal
Radio service is a promising distribution channel that fulfils a clear
consumer demand, and that has to be good for our songwriters and for
the industry as a whole.”
“The multi-tiered format of this new digital service creates a
potentially rewarding user experience,” said Martin Bandier, Chairman
and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. “We are happy to agree to
license a business where our writers get paid, and move the industry
forward in legal song streaming and delivery in the digital space.”
Dave Johnson, CEO of Warner/Chappell Music added: “Today’s music
delivery options are evolving rapidly and interactive Internet radio
services have the potential to be a promising new business. Slacker’s
personalized service provides the kind of interactivity and
portability that consumers demand and it offers an ideal platform for
us to distribute our talented roster of artists, songwriters and
producers.”
Slacker Basic Radio is free to use on Slacker Software and Slacker
Portables, while Slacker Premium Radio is available at $7.50 per month
with an annual subscription.
Last year, Slacker signed deals with all the major record labels and
thousands of independent labels to give Slacker listeners access to a
deep catalog of music. In March 2007, Slacker launched the free Basic
Radio service and in November 2007, Slacker Portables and Premium
Service were announced.
About Slacker, Inc.
Slacker is the world’s first Personal Radio Company, providing a new
kind of radio that enables consumers to play highly personalized music
everywhere. Visit www.slacker.com to start listening today.
###
Slacker and Slacker.com are trademarks of Slacker, Inc. All other
registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their
respective owners.
Related posts:
- Music @ Work Hello cyberspace, OK so if you’re like moi and spend...
- Share the music I was lucky enough to try out The Monster® iCarPlay®...
- Sprint announces the Touch OVERLAND PARK, Kan. and BELLEVUE, Wash. — 10/17/2007 Combining a...
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.