MUSIC TV website Muzu has signed two major deals to bring new content to its channels, with EMI Music and independent group of record labels Beggars Group coming on board.
The agreements will see British and Irish viewers gain access to over 5,000 videos from EMI artists and the entire video library of Beggars Group labels, which includes XL Recordings, 4AD, Matador Records and Rough Trade.
The content is a mixture of music videos and live footage from big-name artists. EMI offers content featuring Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue and Daft Punk, while the deal with Beggars Group brings videos from Adele, the White Stripes, Belle Sebastian, Anthony the Johnsons and others into the fold.
Muzu co-founder Ciarán Bollard said the company expected the deal to attract more advertisers to Muzu. “It is professional content, streamed in high quality, he said. “Users will consume more content on the site. It will drive the advertising inventory.”
He described the Beggars deal as the “jewel in the crown of our indie content offering”.
Director of digital with Beggars Group, Simon Wheeler, said the group views Muzu as “a key online video partner”.
“Muzu is different from other online video channels – it was purpose-built for the music industry and we believe it holds great revenue potential for our business through a music-focused service,” said Mr Wheeler.
Muzu has signed up hundreds of labels, including Sony BMG, Skint Loaded, Ministry Of Sound, Armada Music, Defected Records, Cherry Red Records, Ninja Tune and SPV.
The site provides a platform for music content owners to distribute their video online and generate income through an ad-supported revenue model.
Mr Bollard said the site had begun to attract an increasing amount of viewers, with traffic rising every month. The latest deals come as Muzu opens its site up to a global audience; when it was first launched in July last year, the site was available only to users in the Britain and Ireland.
“The site is now available globally,” he said. “It opens up a huge market for us in the US and other major territories.”
