News broke yesterday that Warner Music Group will purchase a 73.5% stake in Roadrunner Records, home of multi-platinum group Nickelback as well as harder bands like Slipknot, Killswitch Engage and Cradle of Filth. The amount of the deal is $73.5 million. In the U.S., the label will reside within Atlantic Records and within Warner Music International in the rest of the world. Roadrunner founder and managing director Cees Wessels will continue to run the label and retain its own sales and marketing staffs.

Two or three years ago, this would have been a far better acquistion. Roadrunner has already sold millions of Nickelback's last two albums. The band cannot keep up its current sales streak -- nobody sells that many albums forever. WMG has missed the Nickelback's glory years. An acquisition isn't based on this year's sales, or last year's sales. It's based on future sales. I think there's a chance WMG entered the stock market near the end of a bull market.

WMG is betting on two things: That Roadrunner has good years ahead, and its catalog can sell well -- especially in the digital age. Unlike hip-hop-driven Bad Boy Entertainment, of which WMG purchased 50% for $30 million, Roadrunner has a catalog -- rock and metal -- that should be able to sell well. Just a greatest hits comp from Nickeback and one from Slipknot would go a long way in making the deal pay off.

This really isn't a bet on Nickelback as much as it is a bet on hard music and Roadrunner's ability to develop new acts. As emo stills rules teenage pop culture, it's an interesting position to take. WMG is practically betting on emo's demise and metal's longevity. With Warner Bros and Atlantic Records, WMG already has the top two hard rock labels in the U.S.