Getty Images, world’s leader when it comes to creating and distributing visual content, is acquiring Pump Audio, the leading provider of quality independent music to content creators.

With this acquisition, Getty Images enters the commercial music licensing business, in its pursuit to meet the growing content needs of media, advertising, and corporate users and clients. Getty Images, over the past 12 years, has largely contributed to the visual content industry. Starting today, they hope to contribute to the music industry as well, to benefit both customers and creators of music.

Getty Images now allows users to license professional quality music to enhance their film, video, and advertising projects with Pump Audio’s platform which makes it easier and more affordable for users to license music for commercial use, while allowing artists to keep ownership of their music.

“Today there is wide agreement in the music industry that the market for commercial music licensing is fragmented, inefficient and confusing, just as the imagery market once was,” said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images. “We are confident that bringing our digital distribution, e-commerce expertise and our customer relationships, as well as our understanding of intellectual property, to the music industry will have a similarly positive impact.”

Sources say that Getty Images acquired Pump Audio for approximately $42 million.

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