Pinewood Studios-based One Media Publishing, the PLUS-quoted provider of licensed music to the download industry, is an intriguing play on the migration of the music industry to digital formats.

Boasting key strategic ties and board members, both in the UK and North America, the company is looking to build a strong international business in a new and fragmented global market.

Floating on PLUS in late 2006, One Media has acquired several collections of nostalgia music from the 1950s onwards, including Collecting Records in November 2006, for which it paid £0.5m. The group has also entered into several agreements with third-party catalogue owners to represent their music rights online.

A crucial link in the chain for One Media is its relationship with The Orchard, one of the world’s largest digital music distributors, through Scott Cohen, co-founder of The Orchard and a non-executive director of One Media. This high-level support has allowed the company to develop a significant ongoing relationship with iTunes and other global distributors.

For the year to October 2007, One Media lost £27,000 (as a result of a £22,000 bad debt) from £412,507 turnover, with year-end cash balances reduced to £409,000 (2006: £609,000). However, the outlook for the current year-end is expected to be stronger, and results will depend on sales/download results from its major client, iTunes.

CEO Michael Infante’s medium-term focus is to build the music database and scout for further acquisitions, but he concedes the company ‘needs to go to AIM’ in the long run to take full advantage of ‘music evolution and the death of the CD’. While high-risk for now, this minnow is making encouraging noises.

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