Press Releases in 2000
Floot
Calling the tune on internet music
September 2000
A small West firm launched just last year is poised to become one of the world's largest providers of music on the Internet.
Floot, based in Bath, has signed a deal with Europe's largest digital broadcaster Music Choice, a joint venture between BSkyB, Sony, Warner Music and EMI.
Under the agreement, Music Choice will have access to Floot's extensive catalogue of specialist music tracks, which it has assembled and made available through the Internet. In February, Floot signed a major tie-up with Freeserve, providing its subscribers with extensive access to "niche" music.
Floot was set up last year by William Pryor, a self-confessed music fanatic and former marketing director at Bath based Internet firm Arq.
He saw potential for delivering non-mainstream music to subscribers on the Internet - bringing benefits not only to enthusiasts who cannot find rare music in record stores or broadcast on the radio, but also to musicians whose music is ignored by record labels because they consider it non-commercial.
The music Choice deal extends the reach of Floot to cable and satellite TV subscribers across Europe and the Middle East.
As part of the agreement, Music Choice can acquire 20 per cent stake in Floot over the next 15 months.
Floot is also believed to be talking with a major mobile phone company to provide it with music content for its service geared towards the next generation of powerful handsets which will be able to access online services. Analysts believe firms that can supply unique content will be the winners as the existing Internet providers start to battle it out with mobile operators.
Floot chief executive Edward Kershaw, a former Virgin and Decca Records executive, said: "Languishing in the dusty cupboards of record companies across the world are incredibly rich music archives that accommodate all varieties of music taste.
"Through our digital rights acquisition strategy, we are gaining access to the depth of these archives so that music gourmets can delight in a library of music specific to their interest."
The deal is the latest put together by Bristol corporate finance firm ICON. Alan Bristow from ICON said: "This is a major step forward for Floot and in conjunction with its Freeserve relationship, positions it as potentially one of the leading music business on the Internet."
Music Choice chief executive Simon Bazalgatte will join the Floot board as part of the deal.
Fast growing Music Choice already delivers online digital-quality music to cable and satellite TV subscribers and Internet users and is to launch a system to broadcast to mobile phones.
Its database of more that 40,000 albums representing more than 500,000 tracks is available in 18 countries. It has already attracted more than four million subscribers throughout Europe and the Middle East."
