eMusic And K-NFB Reading Ebook Distributor Merge Into Media Arc Inc.

Those who have been using digital music since its earliest days will be familiar with eMusic, which offered cheap monthly subscriptions and a relatively large music library. Today, the music service merged with an ebook distributor called K-NFB to form an entirely new company called Media Arc, Inc. The merger was done quietly, only being announced in an email sent out to record labels.

In addition to announcing the merger, it was revealed that eMusic's CEO Adam Klein is also stepping down. Mr. Klein said in an email he sent out that he is "very pleased" with these new business matters and the two companies' merger, as well as with the direction the company – which has been around since 1998 – is heading.

K-NFB Reading Inc., meanwhile, is a distributor of ebooks and the Blio ereader software. According to the Wall Street Journal, K-NFB Reading Inc. was founded by Google's Director of Engineering Ray Kurzweil. Combined with eMusic, the two services working as Media Arc Inc. will offer 600,000 ebooks, 40,000 audio books, and 17 million songs. By merging, the companies anticipate being able to better compete with competitors.

Said the companies in a statement: "Media Arc's mission is to provide the best digital media discovery experience possible by leveraging cross-content insights to recommend new music and books to avid readers and music collectors alike. This will present both authors and artists with a unique opportunity to expand their fan base, reach new audiences, and of course sell more content."

[via Wall Street Journal]