SHARES: ON THE UP - EMI Group

EMI rose on continued internet fever after the world's third-largest music company took a 50 per cent stake in Musicmaker.com, a US company that creates custom-made compilation compact discs for sale over the web.

Shares in EMI finished the week 13 per cent higher on the news. EMI took the stake in return for giving Musicmaker.com a five-year licence to put EMI recordings from its vast library on its CDs. The transaction, the first between a global music company and a custom compilation service, is part of EMI's effort to sell more music through the net.

It also means Virginia-based Musicmaker.com will have the largest song library of any custom compilation company.