In a rare move, Microsoft said Wednesday that it had agreed to pay a percentage of the sales of its new portable media player to the Universal Music Group.
Universal Music, a unit of Vivendi, will receive a royalty on the Zune player in exchange for licensing its recordings for Microsoft's new digital music service, the companies said.
Universal, which releases recordings from acts like U2 and Jay-Z, said it would pay half of what it receives on the device to its artists. The company is expected to receive more than $1 for each $250 device, according to executives who were briefed on the pact.
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