Coca-Cola to partner with music licensing company to promote independent artists

Coca-Cola Co. is teaming up with music licensing company Music Dealers in a deal that the beverage company says will open a new way for emerging independent artists to break onto the global music stage.

Coca-Cola will have a minority share in Music Dealers and agreed to use the company to discover and license music from bands around the world. Emmanuel Seuge, Coca-Cola's group director of worldwide sports and entertainment marketing, called Music Dealers a "game-changing start-up."

"When artists record a track for Coke, they put significant marketing leverage behind it," said Eric Sheinkop, president of Music Dealers. "The song gets more exposure worldwide than even big artists get from a record label. This arrangement has literally helped artists launch their careers."