You may remember my article on ArkivMusic, a company I really think has come up with the right model for selling classical music recordings online through on-demand printing and other efficient ideas.

Well, it appears it has impressed others, too. This week, Steinway acquired the online retailer for $3 million in cash and three additional payments of $500,000. Last year, ArchivMusic reported it sold $8 million in recordings.

I suppose this does make you scratch your head a bit as to why the famed piano maker would be interested in a retailer. "This acquisition will help Steinway promote thousands of musicians that use our instruments around the globe," comes the answer from Steinway CEO Dana Messina.

Hard to argue with that, and, of course, the money to be made by acquiring the ever-growing ArkivMusic will help Steinway's bottom line. But there's the potential here for conflicts of interest, or at least perceived ones, something Steinway addressed by stating ArchivMusic "will continue to operate independently as a wholly owned subsidiary of Steinway."

It's not my intent here to go in depth about those possibilities, but just to pass on the news, and to highlight a success story in these troubled times for classical music.