EMI api

It's a pity Citibank are selling EMI on, as the label seems to be coming up with better visions of the future under the bank's custodianship than it ever did in the hands of Hands.

EMI has just opened up its catalogue to people who want to come up with interesting ideas. The Next Web has the details:

[A] new deal announced today between music group EMI Music and ‘music intelligence’ startup The Echo Nest is particularly intriguing.

The tie-up sees The Echo Nest host and manage a ‘sandbox’ for app developers. Through this portal, EMI Music will offer creative briefs and opportunities to collaborate on building apps for artists such as Gorillaz, The Pet Shop Boys and Tinie Tempah.

Once developers have successfully registered for an API key, they’re able to submit app concepts to EMI and The Echo Nest. Apps that are approved will then be released by EMI under a revenue sharing model that sees both developers and rightsholders paid, and the intellectual property for the technology retained by the developer. Both free-with-ads, and paid-for apps will be considered, across platforms such as the Web, iOS and Android.

Let's hope the plan remains in place when the new owners turn up. Perhaps if EMI had tried to collaborate with developers a decade and a half back, it wouldn't be part of a fire sale in the first place.