Photo licensor Getty Images has acquired online music rights company Pump Audio for $42 million. Pump Audio does for independent musicians what Getty already does for photographers – license music to movie studios, TV networks, and Web companies for usage in their respective productions.
Pump’s catalog includes more than 100,000 songs, and the company says it has secured more than 80,000 placements for artists. The company does not retain exclusive rights to songs and splits licensing fees evenly with musicians. While a departure from their core photo licensing business, Getty’s large customer database and sales force make Pump poised for expansion under its new corporate umbrella. Getty has been on a buying spree of late, with previous acquisitions including WireImage, Punchstock, and Scoopt.