Warner Music to Acquire Smaller Labels
Warner Music Group Corp. said Friday that it agreed to buy Ryko Corp. for $67.5 million to gain independent labels and recordings by artists including Frank Zappa.
The planned purchase of Ryko from an investment group led by JPMorgan Partners includes more than 1,000 titles, New York-based Warner Music said. The company will get music labels such as Restless Records and Rykodisc.
A takeover of New York-based Ryko gives Warner Music older recordings that can generate steady sales without the costs associated with new releases. Warner will get titles from Richard Thompson, the Misfits and They Might Be Giants.
Ryko, founded in 1984, has a distribution unit that sells albums from independent companies such as Rough Trade/Sanctuary and Chicago-based blues label Alligator Records.
The Rykodisc label is home to artists including the Posies and Joe Jackson.
Shares of Warner Music fell 30 cents to $21.50 on Friday.
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