News

EMI, BBC Strike Major Deal

EMI Music and BBC Worldwide have reached an agreement that'll unleash content from both parties. On one level, EMI will be able to use BBC's TV and radio archives to create products across the realm of DVDs, CDs, and digital downloads. And on the other, the BBC can use EMI performances in new international radio and TV programs.

"We are very excited about this agreement," Pete Duckworth, a senior vice president at EMI, told Billboard.com. "In the BBC vaults there is a wealth of unreleased and high quality material from EMI artists that we will now be able to bring to fans. At the same time, we can offer new revenue opportunities to our artists that simply weren't there before."

Among the selections in BBC's archive are early Coldplay recordings, a David Bowie doc from 1975, and a Piper at the Gates of Dawn performance by Pink Floyd from 1967. A few other details: Artists involved with the deal at any point will be asked for clearance on each project, and both companies will receive reciprocal royalties for the other's sales.

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
06.11.08