Getty Images buys Pump Audio to expand into music licensing

Getty Images, the biggest supplier of pictures used in advertising, bought Pump Audio for about $42 million to enter the music licensing business.

Pump Audio provides independent musicians with a way to sell their work online, the Tivoli, N.Y.--based company's Web site says. Pump Audio will help Getty develop sources of commercial music for use in online and mobile ads, the Seattle-based company said today in a statement.

Buyers of music licenses spend more than $3 billion a year, Getty said, citing research firm Enders Analysis. Getty is entering digital markets as demand for high-quality photographic images declines with the shift of advertising to the Internet. The company bought sources of online photos and video in March with Scoopt and in February with MediaVast.

Getty may use Pump Audio's site to license music from recording companies and publishers, who are trying to expand in digital markets as falling compact disc sales reduce their royalty revenue.