The agreement between EMI and BBC Worldwide, the Beeb's commercial arm, means that each party will have access to release, broadcast and monetise recordings by EMI artists from the BBC archive. These include unheard sessions by the Beach Boys, Kylie Minogue and David Bowie. Other highlights of the BBC treasure trove include a stripped-down version of Coldplay's Shiver, and live radio sessions by Pink Floyd, recorded around the time of their debut album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, when Syd Barrett was still a member of the band.
The deal means that EMI will be able to mine the BBC's vaults for recordings by its artists, then release these sessions as DVDs, CDs and digital downloads. The BBC, meanwhile, will be able to use performances from EMI artists in radio, TV and internet programmes.
Both companies will receive royalties from each other's sales, and artists will still have to clear any release project.
"We are very excited about this agreement," said Pete Duckworth, a senior vice president at EMI Music UK. "In the BBC vaults there is a wealth of unreleased and high-quality material from EMI artists that we will now be able to bring to fans. At the same time, we can offer new revenue opportunities to our artists that simply weren't there before."
Universal Music struck a similar bargain with the BBC in 2005.
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