LOS
ANGELES (Virgin Records) Virgin Digital, the digital entertainment
platform of the Virgin Group Ltd., announced today that it has acquired
Los Angeles-based Shift
Music Inc., a consumer-facing digital music
conversion, training and consulting company. In a move to converge
physical formats with a leading digital music service, Shift and its
assets will be folded into Virgin Digital, and will serve as the
foundation of a new offering from the service devoted to facilitating
consumers' transition to a pure digital media environment.
As part
of the acquisition, Aaron Grosky, Founder of Shift Music will become
Virgin Digital's Head of Digital Services and Artist & Label
Relations. Grosky will report to Zack Zalon, President of Virgin
Digital. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Digital
music services bring new and exciting opportunities for consumers to
enjoy their music. However, figuring out how everything can sync
together can be a scary proposition for users when they attempt to
merge their physical music collections with their digital music
collections," said Zack Zalon, President of Virgin Digital. "Virgin
Digital is committed to offering consumers with the most comprehensive
and superior digital music experience. With Shift, we can make a new
connection with consumers who have been hesitant about making the move
to the world of digital music, and help those already adopting the
digital way to expand their collections seamlessly."
"Shift
Music was created to help people manage their music collections across
multiple formats," said Aaron Grosky, Founder of Shift Music, Inc. "The
acquisition completes the circle of converging physical with digital
assets and was a natural move for us. We are thrilled to be an
extension of the Virgin Digital service."
With over 1,000,000
tracks, Virgin Digital is the first comprehensive retail-driven digital
music experience featuring a store, digital music club subscription,
premium radio, media management tools and community options that is
simple to use and operates seamlessly with over 50 portable devices.
Through the Digital Megastore, users are able to buy tracks for $0.99
per song and from $9.99 per album. The Virgin Digital Music Club is
priced at $7.99 per month enabling members to listen to anything from
the entire store on their PC.
