EMI Jumps on SpiralFrog

EMI has become the latest record label to get onboard with the new online music catalog, SpiralFrog. SprialFrog is promising free, legal music downloads for internet users in direct competition to Apple's iTunes.

Online music services have come a long way since the days of Napster and now there is a new player wading into the arena in the form of SpiralFrog. Soundgenerator reports that the up coming free online music service, SpiralFrog, has just teamed up with EMI, the world's biggest archive of music tracks. This latest addition to SpiralFrog is hopefully going to help the new music site lure listeners away from illegal downloads. The deal becomes more significant when you consider last week's deal between SpiralFrog and Universal Music . What does this mean for music giants like EMI? Roger Faxon, Co-CEO of EMI Music Publishing explains, "It is a very exciting concept which fuses advertising with music downloads and other services to recapture consumer demand which has been hijacked by online piracy. Anytime we can create a new revenue stream for our songwriters and combat online piracy, you will see EMI Music Publishing leading the charge."

If the downloads are going to be free, how does SpiralFrog and its music suppliers intend on making money? According to Geek.com, the deal will involve lots of advertising. The premise is simple: if you want to download a song, you must first access an ad, then the selected track will be unlocked for you to download. The ads are also said be targeting the people using the service.

With the latest collaboration between SpiralFrog and EMI, it looks like Apple's iTunes may be in for some stiff competition. EMI's catalog features such artists as "The Rolling Stones", "Radiohead", "Red Hot Chili Peppers", "Korn", "David Bowie" and many more. The other music heavyweight on SpiralFrog's side is Universal, who will be bringing such labels as, "Motown", "Shady Records", "G-Unit Records" "Def Jam", and "A&M Records". It is also likely that Universal's bid to buy BMG later this month will help as well.

[Additional Sources: Soundgenerator, Geek.com]