CBS Records

CBS Corp said on Friday it is launching a new music label, reviving the name of long-defunct CBS Records, as part of an effort to supply its television shows with less expensive music. At the same time, the television programs would promote the new acts signed by the label.

CBS Records plans to market its artists and their music in television shows produced by CBS Paramount Television and aired across several broadcast and cable networks, including CBS, The CW, NBC and USA Network, New York-based CBS Corp. said Thursday.

"With more consumers choosing the online download model as the preferred way to purchase their favorite songs, we have an opportunity to use our unique and broad collection of media platforms to create a new music label paradigm for a small price of admission," Leslie Moonves, president and chief executive of CBS Corp., said in a prepared statement.

The label also inked a deal with Apple Computer Inc's iTunes online music service to sell the label's music. CBS Records will release music online through its own web site and it will also sell conventional CDs through partnerships with outside companies.

The label plans to add around eight artists to its roster in the first year, said Larry Jenkins, a veteran music executive who is serving as a consultant to the label.