EMI looks to get tracks into games

If you’re thinking of entering the suddenly-busy music game genre, or just want to get some popular music tracks into your game, then EMI wants to hear from you.

The record label has signed a deal with music licensing firm Ricall to make its track available for use in video games.

EMI’s roster of music includes a mix of new and classic artists: Lily Allen, Blur, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Coldplay, Goldfrapp, Gorillaz, Hot Chip, Lenny Kravitz, Kylie, Moby, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rolling Stones, KT Tunstall and Robbie Williams.

The deal with Ricall means tracks from its catalogue are up for grabs for commercial use in a variety of media, including videogames, adverts, films and TV programmes.

It’s the latest move in EMI’s bid to improve its fortunes. According to a report in the Telegraph, new owner of the label, Guy Hands (who recently announced plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs from the firm to reduce costs) sees licensing to other entertainment fields a key opportunity. This deal with Ricall could see the firm’s licensing revenues quadrupled to $10bn in the next three years.

Ronn Werre, EMI Music’s EVP of global sales, explained in the official announcement: “EMI Music’s goal is to create maximum exposure and value for our artists’ music by embracing digital technologies and providing the best service to customers. Ricall’s technology will help us deliver a seamless process to business clients wishing to access EMI’s repertoire on a global basis. It is a great system that complements our existing search tools and is a very effective means of reaching new clients, giving our artists more opportunities to generate revenue through all kinds of established and emerging platforms.”

EMI’s entire global catalogue of recordings will be uploaded onto Ricall’s existing online library – creating a total of more than three million tracks to be found and licensed at the firm’s marketplace site. More information on using Ricall to access the EMI catalogue can be found here: www.ricall.com