Music publishing company Chrysalis has ended takeover talks with prospective buyers, which included EMI and Warner Chappell, the music publishing unit of Warner Music, because it couldn’t get the kind of money it wanted, Reuters reported. This even though publishing is viewed as the one of the few remaining bright spots in the music industry, given that such companies are shielded from some of the piracy issues and declining CD sales plaguing the industry. Licensing songs for live performance and for use in films and television shows can offset losses in other areas. As for digital, there should be room for growth: WMG’s digital revenue from music publishing was less than 7 percent of the unit’s revenues in Q407.

Chrysalis said it rejected a buyout offer of £104 million ($205.4 million), or 155-pence per share because “the position of potential buyers and current valuation levels have been negatively impacted by global economic and credit market conditions.” Back in February, analysts believed that Chrysalis, one of a handful of independent UK music publishers, could fetch 230-pence per share. Instead it shows what can happen when credit market uncertainly is mixed with other issues, such as fallout from the writer’s strike and a lack of big-selling album releases in Q1. The company, which includes artists such as Gnarls Barkley and David Bowie on its roster, first put itself up for sale in December. In addition to EMI and Warner Chappell, other interested buyers included Sony/ATV, several PE firms brought in by rival publishers, and even singer Michael Jackson.

• UK’s Chrysalis Radio Forms Digital Division