EMI Inks Deal With Snocap

The major record label EMI has formed an alliance with Scocap that will see music from the label’s artists inSnocpa’s MyStores. These are online shops that can be added to web sites.   That means stores will appear on the web sites and MySpace pages of EMIartists. Far more interesting, though, is the fact that fans could place MyStores “widgets” on their own sites and MySpace pages, although Snocap would still control sales.   Todate, Snocap has sold songs from independent labels, although they’ve also dealt with material from the Warner Music Group that isn’t covered by digital rights restrictions of the iPod. Adeal with EMI makes for a major coup for the company.   Under the deal, high-quality, rights-free MP3 tracks (which will also play on the iPod) will sell for $1.30 in the Snocap stores.  The fact that these stores can easily be added almost anywhere offers the potential to turn anyone and everyone into a music retailer, which would help fuel impulse purchases, an important segment ofthe market – a recent study showed some 20% of music buys made their purchases impulsively.   “It’s almost like you’re giving the label a vending machine,” saidSnocap chief executive, Rusty Rueff. “They can fill it up and people can take it and put it as many places as they want. This allows the artists and the fans to have a chance to engage incommerce on the most popular music sites, like MySpace.”   As music sales continue to drop, anything that can stem the ebb tide will be gratefully received by the industry.