Warner Music Group is set to acquire the NYC-based parent company of indie label Rykodisc, home to an array of rock, folk, jazz, world, blues, and alternative music, the companies said today.

Warner Music, the publicly traded music company formed in March 2004 when CEO Edgar Bronfman and a group of investors bought it from media giant Time Warner Inc., paid $67.5 million for Ryko Corp., the parent company of Rykodisc and Restless Records.

Rykodisc was founded in 1983 as the first CD-only record label, and went on to build a catalog of more than 1,000 titles that includes music from Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder, Bill Hicks, Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, Joe Jackson, Kelly Willis, Richard Thompson, The Dead Milkmen, The Misfits, The Replacements, They Might Be Giants, and Ween.

Rykodisc purchased the Zappa catalog in 1994, and reissued several classic albums from David Bowie and Elvis Costello in the 1990s. It also controls the catalog of Restless Records, which includes albums from Flaming Lips, the Replacements, and Soul Asylum.

"Recognized as a leader in independent music with a diverse catalog spanning many musical genres and eras, and an award-winning independent distribution company and label, Ryko is a perfect complement to WMG's existing businesses," Lyor Cohen, CEO for WMG's US recorded music division, said in a statement.

A group of investors led by JPMorgan Partners had owned Ryko since July 2001, when the company dissolved a short-lived merger with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures.

"Ryko's artists and employees have found the ideal home at Warner Music Group, where independent music, entrepreneurship, and artist development are of paramount importance," Sam Holdsworth, CEO of Ryko, said in a statement.

Many industry observers have long believed that JPMorgan Partners, majority owner of the Ryko Group, wanted to exit its association with the music company. In July 2001, Ryko dissolved a short-lived merger with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures, and the equity firm took control of Ryko's assets.

Late last year, Rykomusic, the Ryko Group's music publishing division, was sold to Nashville-based Evergreen Copyright Acquisitions for about $10 million.