Clear Channel has inked another direct agreement with a music label, and says this is further support for its new “market-based business model.” Will other broadcasters follow suit soon?
The radio titan has signed classical music label Naxos to a deal similar to the performance rights and revenue deals it has signed with Big Machine and Glass Note.
As part of that deal Naxos will also program a new iHeartRadio Internet radio station called Classica.
Naxos is the largest classical music label in the U.S. and has an estimated 30,000 albums, 6,500 under its own brand.
Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Bob Pittman stated in the announcement: “Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Haydn — these composers wrote the original power chords, and their work is as vital today as when it was first written.
“Our agreement with Naxos further demonstrates that the market-based business model we unveiled this past summer makes sense for labels, artists, broadcasters and fans.”
