Dotmusic was put up for sale in December last year when United announced it was refocusing on business-to-business activities. However, there have been no takers for the site.
Yesterday, it emerged that about half of the website's staff have been made redundant, including the editor Andy Strickland. The lay-offs were part of a wider cost-cutting move across United Business Media.
A spokesman for United's publishing division CMP confirmed the change of plan. He said that the company had decided that Dotmusic and trade title Music Week had a lot of common interest and could see the immediate benefit of developing the website as part of the Music Week group.
"Dotmusic will still be the consumer site we know and love, but it will managed alongside Music Week and it will provide the infrastructure for Music Week online," he said.
It is understood that the Music Week website will carry a mixture of free and paid-for content.