FULLAUDIO, EMI MUSIC
DO DIGITAL TANGO

Digital music subscription service-to-be FullAudio today announced a non-exclusive licensing agreement with EMI Music Publishing, bringing its number of agreements with major publishers to two. FullAudio previously announced a deal with BMG Music (hitsdailydouble.com, 6/13).

FullAudio, which has no ties to the major media companies, says its "service strategy" includes "securing digital rights from music publishers and all five major and independent record labels to add legal content to the offering it provides to its partners" as it begins internal testing of its cache-download platform. Securing rights? Adding legal content? That never would have flown in 1999.

"We at EMI Music Publishing have always believed that the Internet will enable consumers to find and listen to the music they love in new and more convenient ways. So it is a great pleasure when we are able to support a new service like FullAudio’s online subscription service which holds the prospect of doing exactly that," said EMI Music Chairman/CEO Martin Bandier. "Besides, we need to slop and water our lawyers so they’ll be ready to ride by sunup."

FullAudio notes that even sub-service rival MusicNet has not yet made deals with BMG Music and EMI Music, despite being partially owned by both companies’ corporate parents.

"This agreement pushes us toward achieving our goal of being the first independent company to deliver a fully integrated, digital music subscription service with licenses from all music publishers and labels," said FullAudio Chairman/CEO Chris Copeland Gladwin. "And no, you can’t have some of what I’m smoking."