This morning asked why are Vice Recordings (Bloc Party, The Stills, The Streets) tracks no longer on eMusic? Are other labels here and in Europe unhappy with recent eMusic payouts?
Our sources now tells us that European digital distributor Vital was actually who pulled Vice's content from eMusic Europe because of "royalty issues". In the US Atlantic helps fund Vice; so it may have been WMG who forced the eMusic take-down here.
We're also hearing persistent rumors that even as some labels are growing restless, eMusic is actively up for sale. Google and Amazon are most often mentioned as buyers. Some even claim a deal is close and attached a purchase price around $100 million to the rumor. I haven't seen any of the private company's numbers, but the figure seems high given the competition (including Amazon) almost ready to or strongly considering entering the mp3 marketplace.
We're asking Vice, Vital, eMusic and others for comment and will publish any replies.
