Mumbai: Universal Music Group (UMG) has made an equity investment in Buzznet (http://www.buzznet.com), one of the web’s fastest growing social media networks. The announcement was made by UMG chairman and chief executive officer Doug Morris and Buzznet chief executive officer Tyler Goldman. The terms and conditions of the transaction were not disclosed.
 
This partnership marks one of the first times that a music company will be directly involved in developing editorial programming for a social media site, with both companies sharing in the revenue. Music and videos from the world’s most extensive digital catalog of chart-topping artists will be uniquely interwoven into Buzznet’s daily editorial, as well as thousands of blog posts allowing for users to comment, share and draw on the content to create their own personal experience.
 
In addition, artists will lend their voices as guest bloggers on the site and will deliver exclusive news to their fans that will not be found anywhere else on the web. Buzznet’s unique social media platform currently empowers its more than 10 million active music fans with the stage to create and program communities around the artists they love. Users express themselves, connect with friends and socialize around the topics they are passionate about, sharing millions of blog posts, photos and videos every day.
 
"We are always striving to push boundaries and expand the scope of our digital activities," stated Morris. "And our partnership with Buzznet fits perfectly into that strategy. Tyler and his team have built a dynamic and legitimate social destination that provides fans and sponsors an all-encompassing musical experience."
 
"Universal is dedicated to offering music fans the very best in personalization and our new partnership with Buzznet is a perfect way to continue these efforts," commented UMG executive vice president of eLabs Rio Caraeff. "Buzznet offers an elegant and excellent platform to showcase the high quality and depth of UMG’s extensive musical catalog."
 
Goldman added, "With our social media tools we were able to grow an engaged community of music fans to exciting levels. Now working in collaboration with UMG, we will be able to integrate audio, video and original content into Buzznet’s music communities to give them the ultimate music experience."

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