eMusic has come to an agreement with Warner Music Group and will soon begin selling tracks from the label’s roster of artists to its U.S. users. The agreement includes material from Atlantic Records, Rhino Records and Warner Bros. Records as well as from independent labels distributed through the Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) stable. The deal will make sure that 10,000 catalog (!) albums from artists like REM, Depeche Mode and Aretha Franklin will be available for downloading.
eMusic, which is rumoured to be up for sale, currently offers more than 7.5 million tracks, and claims it has sold more than 350 million music downloads. The company is currently in talks with label partners for new licensing deals that would allow registered users to stream songs. Streaming would be added in 2010, provided rights holders come to terms with the realities of new business models.
