So what next?  EMI Music holds the rights to the older catalog, though the latest EMI release – Of the Blue Colour of the Sky – is now getting a fresh re-release under Paracadute/RED in July.

Just recently, EMI owner Terra Firma pitched investors on a 360 million pound ($557 million) rescue plan. That would mostly avoid a painful covenant breach and possible seizure by Citigroup, though Terra chief Guy Hands was also selling some outlandish return prospects. A more immediate injection of 105 million pounds is reportedly ‘close,’ according to one source, though the situation remains on edge.

And what about Warner Music Group? The label has been rumored to be kicking the tires, though during the latest quarterly, WMG chairman Edgar Bronfman mostly avoided the subject. “We really try not to respond to rumors and speculation… in light of the heightened media rumors and speculation regarding EMI, I think it’s prudent for us not to take any comment in that regard.”

This first-of-a-kind pact with industry leader Extreme will create Scoreganics, a new library of genre-focused television underscores inspired by AETN’s compelling programming. Combining the strengths of the two companies, the catalogue will have production music super-brand Extreme creating, branding, marketing and distributing the library internationally. The initial release of albums, Felony, Misdemeanor, Espionage, Curiosity, Courage, Hope and Joy, are available immediately with further exciting releases planned throughout the year.

The organic underscores in AETN’s original programming on A&E(R), HISTORY(TM), Lifetime(R), BIO(TM) and HITM have inspired the creation of Scoreganics. Doug
Jacobs credited Jennifer Insogna, of AETN’s Music Services Group, as the driving force behind the digital library initiative with Extreme.

Extreme’s Taylor said: “Sometimes less is more . . . it can be all too easy to allow music to distract the viewer from great visuals. There is a massive gap in the market for a visually sensitive soundtrack library specially constructed to be acoustically sympathetic. Scoreganics is now set to fill that gap.”

In her statement, Insogna said, “Filling a need in contemporary production music, Scoreganics has been meticulously created using AETN’s stable of premier composers. With its renowned catalog, powerful search tools and intuitive user interface, Extreme Music is the perfect partner to bring Scoreganics to the production music community.”

Russell Emanuel added: “This is an interesting new take on production music. There can be no doubt that A&E’s composers have become expert at creating televisual sub-score by working 24/7 in this niche arena. We are excited to expose Scoreganics to Extreme’s global clients.”

The writer of two top 10 UK singles with Sony and two EMI albums and countless themes for TV programmes, Hélènehas not written a score for a full-length feature film before, However, her soundtrack for “Skin” has already won best film score at Moondance Fesitival and the Accolade Award for Excellence. It was also nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award.

In the new role Neil will head up all of Sony Music’s sync activities in the UK, while helping expand the use of UK repertoire worldwide. He will report directly to Sony Music COO Paul Curran.

Neil, who has run his own film and TV music supervision company since 2004 and was the man behind the double-platinum Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack, says sync has become much more prevalent and important within the industry.

“The difference between now and 10 years ago is that now every managing director wants to know what you are doing and the international guys and marketing men too because sync generates a lot of money,” says Neil, who expects to add to the current three- man strong sync department when he joins Sony in May.

Neil, whose film credits also include the award-winning Control, Joe Strummer – The Future Is Unwritten, Kidulthood, Adulthood, Rocknrolla, Nowhere Boy and Sex & Drugs And Rock & Roll (where he was also an executive producer), says one of his first tasks will be to service broadcasters with a list of new and catalogue songs which are geared towards the World Cup.

He will also be concentrating on the forthcoming Mark Ronson album, whose predecessor Version spawned a raft of sync deals. “This time around it is all co-writes and it is a real summer record so it is a question of getting it early to the right people,” says Neil, whose has just finished working on the forthcoming Matthew Vaughn movie Kick Ass.

He adds that moving back to a record company – he has worked at Polygram and Warner/Chappell – after working for himself for six years was “a huge decision”, but the move is a challenge to work on a bigger scale.

He also says it is likely he will work on other forthcoming film projects. “Sony offered me an enviable position with flexibility that enables me to stay close to my film clients. Ultimately it was a role that was just too good to ignore,” says Neil. “There is an important job to be done there, as sync continues to be a valuable source of marketing and income in more challenging financial and creative times.”

Curran says, “Maximising the value of our rights must be a core activity for us as a company. Sync licensing remains a challenging environment and one where it’s essential we punch our full weight. Ian brings to this new role a wealth of experience, a fantastic network and great energy. He will be a great asset to this company.”

Neil started in the music business in 1992 as a music researcher at Jeff Wayne Music. He left in 1995 to join Polygram Records, rising to head of film and TV. In 1999 he moved to Warner/Chappell Music Publishing where he became head of film, TV and advertising.

In these roles he placed artists such as the Lighthouse Family, The Cardigans, Moby, Goldfrapp, Overseer, Groove Armada and Lamb in high-profile campaigns and film and TV productions.

A recent reduction of tens of employees – not hundreds – by Sony Music Entertainment offers the perfect example. According to numerous major label executives, smaller reductions fly below the radar and are more difficult for the media to report.

Additionally, reductions are often spread over a number of different departments, making it difficult to distinguish between restructuring and reduction. “Big layoffs are generally spread out over time, and spread out across the company,” one executive shared.

Theoretically, that approach keeps artists, managers, partners, and even existing employees more calm. But arguments can also be made for bigger, more pronounced chops, especially when it comes to employee morale. The reason is that a piecemeal approach creates the problem of the perennially-dangling ax. On numerous occasions, executives have complained that media reporting of ongoing layoffs – including by Digital Music News – has helped to sap morale, especially when the information is coming entirely from the outside.

Hits is also showing surprisingly equal year-to-date market shares for both Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, at 28.7 percent apiece. Warner Music Group is tracking far lower at 14.8 percent, down from 16.1 percent in Q109, also according to Hits.

This is a top-heavy game, and Sony is benefitting from Susan Boyle and Sade blowouts. Warner Music Group is also gaining a substantial chunk of its revenues from bigger releases, as reaffirmed during its latest quarterly earnings call. Next, Nielsen may be weighing in with its own first-quarter tallies, a nice data comparison opportunity.

According to details surfacing late Monday, Sony Music Entertainment is floating a guaranteed $200 million advance to the Jackson estate for a colossal release contract. According to numerous reports, that means ten albums over 7 years, including remixes, remasterings and unreleased content. The broader deal is estimated at $250 million.

That eclipses some earlier mega-deals for the recording industry, including those involving Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Williams, and R.E.M. But Jackson is a different kind of animal, one that posthumously roared in 2009.

Now, Sony is aiming to keep the beast alive – through recordings, videogames, DVDs, and whatever else makes sense. “There may be theater. There may be films and movies. There may be computer games, or multimedia platforms that I don’t know about today that will happen in 2015,” Columbia Epic Label Group chairman Rob Stringer recently told the Los Angeles Times.

Sounds a bit greedy, though according to the Wall Street Journal, the estate will retain control over image licensing, merchandising, and other revenue-generators. Now, the bigger question is whether Jackson material will continue to sell strongly through 2017. Another possibility is that Jackson simply boomed in 2009 following his death, a bubble that may ultimately flatten out.

For its investment, Power Amp gets 50% of gross revenue from Church’s recordings, publishing, merchandise and touring for an undisclosed period.

“[The deal] provides me with a financial commitment equivalent to that of a major record company but with a much greater degree of control and ownership over my career,” Church told FT.com.

Church parted ways with her former label Sony Music in 2006, after selling 10.5 million albums worldwide.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 10, 2010 – 8:16am.

Separately, sources to Hits Magazine pointed to a splash event at Skylight Studios in lower Manhattan, and participation from leading independents, brands, and other advertising agencies.  That was later confirmed by an email from Vevo, which additionally pointed to an upcoming presence across vevo.com and youtube.com.

Currently, the venture involves Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, though others are expected to join at a later date.  YouTube is powering the backend video technology.

Outside of launch and partner specifics, the challenge for Vevo is to find a way to better monetize music videos online.  That means sloughing away CPM-unfriendly elements associated with user-generated content, including affinity issues that emanate from loosely-regulated uploads and distasteful comments. Whether Vevo can create a neater, cleaner, and safer environment for advertisers remains unclear, though everyone involved has a great deal to gain from the effort.