EMI music licensing talks falter with Sony - WSJ

TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) - EMI Group Ltd is struggling to reach a deal to license its catalogue of recordings, with Sony Corp (6758.T) on the verge of pulling out of discussions with the British music company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper cited unnamed people familiar with the matter as saying that EMI needed to clinch a licensing deal by Wednesday in order to satisfy a covenant of a loan agreement with Citigroup Inc (C.N).

A cash advance from a music licensing group would help it meet that test, the newspaper said.

Representatives for EMI and Sony's music division could not be immediately reached for comment.

EMI, which is owned by private-equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd, has been seeking a deal in which one of its rivals would license and distribute its music in the United States in exchange for an upfront payment of up to $150 million, the newspaper said.

But Warner Music Corp has not been in talks with EMI and Vivendi SA (VIV.PA) broke off talks last week, the newspaper said.

That made a deal with Sony one of the last potential options for EMI, which distributes the music of artists including the Beatles and Pink Floyd, according to the newspaper.