Universal Music Group has
confirmed that it has taken a stake in social networking music site Buzznet Inc., three months after we first
reported the deal. UMG's Interscope division isn't mentioned in the companies' joint statement, although prior reports indicated that the investment came directly from Interscope rather than the parent company.
The companies did not disclose the size of the round, but paidContent has
reported it at roughly $25 million. A Buzznet spokesperson confirmed that existing investors Redpoint Ventures, Anthem Venture Partners and various angels including Jeff Clavier did not exit the startup and continue to hold stakes. They've invested $7.5 million in two prior installments.
Buzznet has been making moves lately, acquiring two of the most highly trafficked music blogs on the Web in
Stereogum and
Idolator, the latter among several divestitures by Gawker Media. No dollar amount was pinned to the Idolator deal, but Stereogum was rumored to be worth about $5 million.
Buzznet says it isn't trying to assemble a large blog network, but an e-mail has
surfaced indicating that it's also been kicking other tires. In another recent deal, Buzznet last month reportedly
acquired Steve Case-backed music application developer Qloud last month.
-- Paul BonanosSee April 17 press release from UMG and BuzznetSee Jan. 14 post on Buzznet from Tech ConfidentialSee March 31 posts from
PaidContent.org and
Mashable
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