Digital milestones


EMI has been a leader in recognising the opportunities in the digital age to connect its music with fans and the company is at the cutting edge of the industry in bringing its music to fans in digital form. These are some of EMI's digital milestones:

  • EMI and Virgin Classics launched an online classics club in October 2007.

  • DRM-free MP3 stores featuring EMI Music tracks for sale are launched by Wal Mart in August 2007 and Amazon.com in September 2007.

  • In July 2007 Flavor Of Life by Japan's Utada Hikaru became a contender for the best-selling digital single in the world.

  • EMI Music, Google and YouTube announced a milestone agreement to give fans access to EMI's music videos and recordings, including those featured in user-generated content.

  • On 2 April 2007 EMI Music launched DRM-free superior sound quality downloads across its entire digital repertoire. The first album to be released as a new premium download was 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen's' self-titled debut. 

  • In January 2007 EMI Music and Baidu announced a pioneering strategic partnership to launch an advertising-supported online music streaming service in China, the first revenue-sharing arrangement between an internet search engine and international music company in the country.

  • In June 2006, EMI Music became the first major music company to make its catalogue available to Qtrax, the world's first ad-supported legitimate P2P service. EMI Music Publishing licensed its catalogue to Qtrax in August.
     
  • In May 2006, EMI Music Publishing announce a precedent setting deal with the global internet communications company Skype. The deal is the first of its kind, licensing the use of song copyrights from the EMI Music Publishing catalogue for downloading, subscription and mastertone use, lawfully on a worldwide basis for Skype’s soon to be launched online retail store.

  • In April 2006, EMI and Rhythm NewMedia announced a pioneering collaboration to test advertising-supported mobile video with mobile carriers in the United States. In September EMI and T-Mobile announced a trial of ad-supported mobile video with the support of Rhythm NewMedia in the UK.  

  • In January 2006 EMI Music signed the first ever pan-European download agreement for a peer-to-peer (P2P) music service, after reaching a pioneering deal with one of Europe's leading mobile entertainment providers arvato mobile for their GNAB service.  

  • 2004 saw EMI offer Robbie Williams’ new video exclusively on the 3 mobile network in the UK before the video appeared on TV; and was first to release a single – Chingy’s Balla Baby – via ring tune before it went to radio.
     
  • In 2003, EMI kicked off the most ambitious music download initiative by a record company in Europe when it made 140,000 tracks from over 3,000 EMI artists available online and also enabled consumers to burn music to CD-Rs and transfer music to portable devices
     
  • In 2002, the company became one of the first music companies to offer its music online at the same time as its release to radio and ahead of any physical single release. 

  • In September 1999, EMI made the world’s first album digital download available – David Bowie’s …hours; in October 2001 it offered Lenny Kravitz’ Dig In as the first video single on the Internet.

  • EMI Music made it into the Guinness Book of Records in 1998 for the first time a whole album is streamed over the internet - Massive Attack's Mezzanine. During the day-by-day countdown to the album's release fans are able to hear a different track each day.

Last updated January 2008