eMusic Off The Market–For Now

Brian Raftery | April 10, 2007 12:18 pm
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Last month, rumors surfaced that MP3 retailer eMusic might be up for grabs, with Amazon mentioned a possible buyer. But Digital Music News is reporting that talks between eMusic and the online giant have broken down:

The result follows heavy speculation that Amazon would purchase eMusic, and use the MP3-based destination as its entry into the digital music market. But during conversations with Digital Music News, insiders pointed to a lapsed exclusivity window between the pair, and a no-deal result. “There were talks, but no deal was consummated,” one executive relayed. Additionally, the sources were quick to quash rumors of changes at eMusic parent company, Dimensional Associates, LLC, noting that the group is not seeking outside funds and remains committed to its eMusic property…

The result raises more questions than answers about the Amazon digital music strategy. Speculation has swirled around a possible Amazon entrance for years, though nothing concrete has materialized. One executive noted that the retailer would love to enter the market ahead of the holidays, though a launch strategy remains tricky. Aside from EMI, major labels are still brokering in protected content, a landscape that prevents access to the all-important iPod. Theoretically, an eMusic purchase would solve the DRM issue by offering largely independent content, while positioning a platform to accept future, non-protected major label catalog as the market evolves.

Whatever strategy Amazon winds up implementing, it better do it soon–as Hypebot points out, the company’s digital-music plan was flailing even before the eMusic talks stalled. Can’t Jeff Bezos just ride his space-ship over to Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s helo-pad and sort this all out before lunch? That’s how we always imagined these things went down.

Amazon, eMusic Buyout Discussions Unsuccessful, Sources [Digital Music News]