EA launches music label

Music has been a focal point of many of EA's titles for years, and now the publishing giant has gone a step further by forming its own music label.

In a joint venture with Nettwerk One Music, the new LA-based Artwerk record label will sign both new and established artists, the first of which will be Junkie XL, who worked on music for Madden, SSX Blur and Need for Speed Carbon games.

EA will use its games as a worldwide marketing tool to promote its artists.

"For the past five years, EA has been instrumental in breaking new artists, but we have been limited in our ability to grow them. With Artwerk, we can now directly sign, develop and launch artists for publishing, master recordings, sync deals and beyond," said Steve Schnur, worldwide executive of music and marketing at EA.

"With Nettwerk, we are once again partnered with the most visionary team in the industry. And with Junkie XL as our premiere signing, we are enormously excited about the future."

March 27, 2007