Sources: Top-Level, Major Label Reductions Ahead…
A number of highly-paid major label department heads are likely to be eliminated over the next few weeks, according to recent sources to Digital Music News. One well-placed executive noted that the target is a department head whose salary is overblown, sometimes past $1 million annually. “These types of compensation packages were signed in an earlier time, a different frame [...]
Wall Street Wrap: WMG Finally Cools Amidst Mild Declines…
Wall Street was mixed on Wednesday, and the Dow (DJIA) posted another mild loss (down 0.83 percent to 9,748.55). Warner Music Group (WMG) finally cooled, dropping 3.68 percent to $5.76. Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) remained troubled and sub-$1, slipping 0.28 percent to 68 cents. A number of others posted mild declines, including SanDisk (SNDK), RealNetworks (RNWK), Ticketmaster (TKTM), The Orchard [...]
The 5-Cent Download… Does It Need a Comeback?
The question can be dismissed as blasphemy, pirate thinking, or just profitless babble. But consumers have yet to embrace a download price tag of 99-cents, or 69-cents, or $1.29, at least in volumes needed to sustain a healthy and growing recorded music sector. Is a wildly different – and drastically cheaper – pricing structure needed?
Guitar Center Tagged on Collusion Charges…
Guitar Center offers a huge collection of axes, yet its heft may not be helping consumers. According to a recent lawsuit from law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, both Guitar Center and the National Association of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) have been conspiring to artificially control pricing on guitars. The class action lawsuit applies not only to electric guitars, but a [...]
An Online World, Free of Discrimination…
The election of Barack Obama symbolized a huge leap forward for racial equality in the United States. That was the hope at least, though the Obama administration may also be remembered for its equality online.
Variable, Sort Of: Amie Street Expands Sony Music Deal…
Amie Street is now broadening its Sony Music Entertainment deal, but modifying its pricing structure in the process. According to details shared this morning with Digital Music News, Amie Street is now positioning both catalog and current artists from the Sony collection. But instead of an Amie Street approach that slides track pricing based on demand, Sony tracks will only [...]
The Murky Tea Leaves on EMI, Warner Music Group…
What happens next with Warner Music Group and EMI? Guys Hands, Terra Firma, and Citigroup are sitting on a toxic asset, one whose debt payments and financial liabilities are monstrous. “Forget about their quarterlies, EMI is all about debt right now,” one major label executive shared with Digital Music News. That demands resolution, and potentially paves the way for a [...]
Ringtones: Exiting as Fast as They Entered…
The ringtone is declining, that the industry knows. But the return to Earth is happening quickly, according to the latest data. Researcher IBISWorld pegged US-based ringtone revenues at $750 million in 2009, down from a peak of $880 million in 2007.
Icahn no longer roars at Lions Gate
Those who follow the events at Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. — including the movie and television studio’s own management — might have expected “activist shareholder” Carl Icahn to wage a proxy war by now given his growling threats earlier this year.