Sky and Merlin Reach Agreement to Further Bolster Sky Songs’ Artist Portfolio

Sky has reached an agreement with global independent rights agency Merlin to add a wide variety of leading artists to Sky Songs, the recently launched digital music service which offers music fans the opportunity to combine, in one subscription, unlimited streaming and tracks to download and keep forever.Merlin, whose repertoire represents 10% of the key global music markets, gives Sky Songs customers access to wide variety of member labels, including Domino,  Demon Records, Ministry of Sound, Naïve, Cooking Vinyl, Tommy Boy, One Little Indian, Epitaph and !K7, as well as distributors including Finetunes, Kontor New Media, State 51, Virtual Label and Redeye.Artists represented by these companies include Arctic Monkeys, Bjork, Tom Waits, Franz Ferdinand, Ian Dury, Prodigy, Last Shadow Puppets, Animal Collective, Rancid and Al Green.  Sky Songs already includes new release and back catalogue material from EMI, Sony Music Entertainment UK, Warner Music UK and Universal Music Group, plus a range of independent labels and distributors.Justin Moodie, General Manager for Sky Songs, comments: “I’m delighted to add Merlin, and the fantastic music they represent, to the Sky Songs catalogue.  We aim to constantly grow and improve the Sky Songs service and this addition is a welcome step in that direction.” Charles Caldas, Merlin’s CEO adds, “We are delighted the Merlin repertoire will now be available on the Sky Songs service. Combining the strength and profile of our members’ artists, the comprehensive set of repertoire already available, and the strength and reach of the Sky brand, we believe Sky Songs will continue to encourage even more music fans to subscribe to access quality music online.”Tracks on Sky Songs are available via unlimited online streaming, and as mp3 files that can be downloaded and stored forever.  The service, which launched on the 19th October 2009 is available to any consumer in the UK with an active broadband connection.Sky Songs offers users unlimited streaming, plus download-to-own tracks and albums from £6.49 a month.  Customers can also purchase additional music on a per-track or per-album basis from 65p and £6.49 respectively.There are two subscription options available:

• Pay £6.49 and download either a £6.49 album or 10 songs, and receive unlimited access to listen to over four million songs online for one month; or
• Pay £7.99 and download either a £7.99 album or 15 songs, and receive unlimited access to listen to over four million songs online for one month.

The service is available at: http://songs.sky.com/