EA to buy Cherry Lane Music?
p2pnet.net News:- Electronic Arts is the latest company wanting to get into the corporate music business.
“EA looks set to raise eyebrows across the wider entertainment sector, with a swoop for a record label on the cards,” says MCV, continuing that it understands EA is in the, “final stages of securing a deal to acquire US-based independent publisher Cherry Lane Music, with senior music industry sources revealing that the games giant will pick up the company ‘lock, stock and barrel’. An official announcement is expected within the week.”
An announcement could be made as soon as Monday, but it won’t involve an acquisition, p2pnet has been told.
In the meanwhile, Cherry Lane artists include The Black Eyed Peas, John Denver, Tom Paxton and Elvis Presley.
But much more to the point, Jim Griffin, who for five years ran Geffen Records’ technology department, now runs Cherry Lane Digital, with all that implies.
This is the first major sign of EA’s long term ambitions in the music business, first suggested by the hiring of former Capitol Records senior VP of A&R Steve Schnur in 2002 as worldwide head of music for EA, says MCV.
Another major game company, Take-Two Interactive Software, recently announced a partnership with Interscope Records, owned by France’s Universal Music Group (UMG).
They’ll joint venture the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
UMG’s estimated global market share in 2003 was 23.5%. It also owns the largest catalogue of recorded music in the world – that’s to say a major part of the dollar-a-download tracks sold on the corporate music sites.
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See:-
raise eyebrows – Now EA takes on music biz, MCV, November 12, 2004
Take-Two – GTA: San Andreas, p2pnet, October 17, 2004
