The players are paid with credits for Facebook to play games, including titles by Lily Allen, Gorillaz, David Guetta and other artists

EMI is the first major label, a partnership to be signed to sell music in a social game on Facebook's social network 's Facebook virtual currency credits.

The major label has agreed a deal with social game publishers MXP4, a number of tracks from artists like Lily Allen, Gorillaz, The Jackson 5 and David Guetta \ it within MXP4's Bopler games collection on Facebook.

Fans will be able to play a selection of rhythm games for free with 60-second clips of the songs, but will have to pay using Facebook Credits for access to the full songs. MXP4 struck separate deals with EMI's recorded music and publishing divisions.

"Games are a high-growth digital business, so we are always on the lookout for ways to license our music or have our artists involved in that area," says Cosmo Lush, EMI's vice president of digital business development.

"We are talking to many potential partners about the games industry, but MXP4 were very forward thinking and keen to move quickly to get some of our music licenses and get started."

"This is the first time a music label and publishing such a deal with the Freemium business model have signed \," says Albin Serviant, MXP4 's Chief Executive. "We expect more signatures from other publishers and labels to the end of August for the commercial launch of Bopler games \."

The games are currently being added in the beta with new EMI tracks every week. In August, it will play 12 games, are wrapped around them with social functions, including challenges and tournaments.

"We have cleared hundreds of tracks from the label, and over time, because we know how good the service implementation can be seen," says Lush. "This can be monetized on the lookout for innovative new digital frontiers, where the music in a way that is convincing and attractive to consumers."

This is not the first crossover between music and games. Lady Gaga \ s FarmVille game's latest album was promoted in Zynga "earlier in the year 2011 with its own virtual farm, gaga ville.

Legacy: In the meantime, American publisher Booyah \ s soundtrack for the movie TRON 's City Club has one-game actions to Kiss, Keith Urban and run Daft Punk'. EMI and MXP4 have already worked together before, even on a promotional tour for David Guetta Facebook game.

What is innovative about the new partnership is the use of credits Facebook for access to songs by EMI artists pay within MXP4 's Bopler-branded games, a direct source of revenue for the music group.

Facebook takes a 30% reduction of all Facebook credits transactions Serviant but declined to say how the remaining 70% between MXP4, labels and publishers are divided. He stressed that the deal not to sell music downloads, however.

"This is not a service where you use Facebook Credits to buy music," he says. "What we're here monetization of gaming experience, including the music It 's not about the sale of virtual goods as music: it' .. S on sales of virtual goods as music games"

The deal is a welcome positive note for EMI after a troubled last year, when control of the music group failed went from private equity firm Terra Firma to Citigroup, after the former to purchase the covenants of the loan for EMI in 2007, taken to . meet

According to music industry body the IFPI, the trade was revenue from recorded music sales of $ 15.9bn in 2010 by 8.4% over the previous year. In contrast, social games are still relatively small fish: eMarketer estimates that games sales in 2010 amounted to $ 856.

Nevertheless, music copyright holders by the success of social games publishers like Zynga, which generated $ 598 million in sales in 2010 alone, with $ 575 million of which fascinates from virtual item sales.

Facebook is considering its own motion in the music also. In August, the social network is expected that partnerships with music streaming service Spotify including, Rhapsody and RDIO that they will integrate more deeply to announce on Facebook. It is unclear at this point whether Facebook credits will play a role in these partnerships.