Streets Is Watching: WMG Shares Boom 27%...
Guess the Street loves a juicy 'for sale' sign, especially when Goldman is pulling the strings. In early morning trading on Friday, shares of Warner Music Group (WMG) boomed past 25 percent, and ultimately finished up 27.33 percent to $6.01.
Late Thursday, word leaked on a possible purchase by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), though apparently other suitors are knocking. Either way, the potential buy screams 'buy' to traders, who all want an easy, overnight payout.
Separately, something else is happening in France, where WMG chairman Edgar Bronfman has been handed a hefty fine for illegal insider trading. This goes back to a 'past life' involving Vivendi, and a Paris court has now saddled Bronfman with a 5 million euro ($6.7 million) bill. Of course, Bronfman is planning to appeal, though this seems like a separate stage of drama.
More ahead.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Major Layoffs at Universal Music Group; As Much as 50%...
Universal Music Group has just completed massive layoff round, according to information from roughly a dozen sources. A spokesperson for the label has also confirmed the round, though specific numbers were not revealed.
So who's saying what? One source pointed to a chop as deep as 50 percent 'across the board,' which seems a bit high, though another pointed to a similar percentage reduction at Interscope. Another high-ranking partner pointed to something "big, very big," and a distribution partner pointed to sales executive Mike Davis as "the first casualty". According to information shared, Davis was most recently Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Universal Music & Video Distribution (UMVD).
The list of sources saying "huge" and "massive" goes on and on. Separately, both Variety and the New York Times are pointing to a chop of 60 in North America, though that seems only relevant to staff-level employees. Ongoing, Digital Music News is getting emailed with unconfirmed dribs-and-drabs, with most pointing to a rather extreme downsizing.
So who's saying what? One source pointed to a chop as deep as 50 percent 'across the board,' which seems a bit high, though another pointed to a similar percentage reduction at Interscope. Another high-ranking partner pointed to something "big, very big," and a distribution partner pointed to sales executive Mike Davis as "the first casualty". According to information shared, Davis was most recently Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Universal Music & Video Distribution (UMVD).
The list of sources saying "huge" and "massive" goes on and on. Separately, both Variety and the New York Times are pointing to a chop of 60 in North America, though that seems only relevant to staff-level employees. Ongoing, Digital Music News is getting emailed with unconfirmed dribs-and-drabs, with most pointing to a rather extreme downsizing.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Full List of Stuff White People Like
found this and got a chuckle out of it
#134 The TED Conference
#133 The World Cup
#132 Picking Their Own Fruit
#131 Conan O’Brien
#130 Ray-Ban Wayfarers
#129 Banksy
#128 Camping
#127 Where the Wild Things Are
#126 Vespa Scooters
#125 Bob Marley
#124 Hating People Who Wear Ed Hardy
#123 Mad Men
#122 Moleskine Notebooks
#121 Funny or Ironic Tattoos
#120 Taking a Year Off
#119 Sea Salt
#118 Ugly Sweater Parties
#117 Political Prisoners
#116 Black Music that Black People Don’t Listen to Anymore
#115 Promising to Learn a New Language
#114 America
#113 Halloween
#112 Hummus
#111 Pea Coats
#110 Frisbee Sports
#109 The Onion
#108 Appearing to Enjoy Classical Music
#107 Self Aware Hip Hop References
#106 Facebook
#105 Unpaid Internships
#104 Girls with Bangs
#103 Sweaters
#102 Children’s Games as Adults
#101 Being Offended
#100 Bumper Stickers
#99 Grammar
#98 The Ivy League
#97 Scarves
#96 New Balance Shoes
#95 Rugby
#94 Free Healthcare
#93 Music Piracy
#92 Book Deals
#91 San Francisco
#90 Dinner Parties
#89 St. Patrick’s Day
#88 Having Gay Friends
#87 Outdoor Performance Clothes
#86 Shorts
#85 The Wire
#84 T-Shirts
#83 Bad Memories of High School
#82 Hating Corporations
#81 Graduate School
#80 The Idea of Soccer
#79 Modern Furniture
#78 Multilingual Children
#77 Musical Comedy
#76 Bottles of Water
#75 Threatening to Move to Canada
#74 Oscar Parties
#73 Gentrification
#72 Study Abroad
#71 Being the only white person around
#70 Difficult Breakups
#69 Mos Def
#68 Michel Gondry
#67 Standing Still at Concerts
#66 Divorce
#65 Co-Ed Sports
#64 Recycling
#63 Expensive Sandwiches
#62 Knowing What’s Best for Poor People
#61 Bicycles
#60 Toyota Prius
#59 Natural Medicine
#58 Japan
#57 Juno
#56 Lawyers
#55 Apologies
#54 Kitchen Gadgets
#53 Dogs
#52 Sarah Silverman
#51 Living by the Water
#50 Irony
#49 Vintage
#48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
#47 Arts Degrees
#46 The Sunday New York Times
#45 Asian Fusion Food
#44 Public Radio
#43 Plays
#42 Sushi
#41 Indie Music
#40 Apple Products
#39 Netflix
#38 Arrested Development
#37 Renovations
#36 Breakfast Places
#35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report
#34 Architecture
#33 Marijuana
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism
#31 Snowboarding
#30 Wrigley Field
#29 80s Night
#28 Not having a TV
#27 Marathons
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
#25 David Sedaris
#24 Wine
#23 Microbreweries
#22 Having Two Last Names
#21 Writers Workshops
#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture
#19 Traveling
#18 Awareness
#17 Hating their Parents
#16 Gifted Children
#15 Yoga
#14 Having Black Friends
#13 Tea
#12 Non-Profit Organizations
#11 Asian Girls
#10 Wes Anderson Movies
#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside
#8 Barack Obama
#7 Diversity
#6 Organic Food
#5 Farmer’s Markets
#4 Assists
#3 Film Festivals
#2 Religions their parents don’t belong to
#1 Coffee
#134 The TED Conference
#133 The World Cup
#132 Picking Their Own Fruit
#131 Conan O’Brien
#130 Ray-Ban Wayfarers
#129 Banksy
#128 Camping
#127 Where the Wild Things Are
#126 Vespa Scooters
#125 Bob Marley
#124 Hating People Who Wear Ed Hardy
#123 Mad Men
#122 Moleskine Notebooks
#121 Funny or Ironic Tattoos
#120 Taking a Year Off
#119 Sea Salt
#118 Ugly Sweater Parties
#117 Political Prisoners
#116 Black Music that Black People Don’t Listen to Anymore
#115 Promising to Learn a New Language
#114 America
#113 Halloween
#112 Hummus
#111 Pea Coats
#110 Frisbee Sports
#109 The Onion
#108 Appearing to Enjoy Classical Music
#107 Self Aware Hip Hop References
#106 Facebook
#105 Unpaid Internships
#104 Girls with Bangs
#103 Sweaters
#102 Children’s Games as Adults
#101 Being Offended
#100 Bumper Stickers
#99 Grammar
#98 The Ivy League
#97 Scarves
#96 New Balance Shoes
#95 Rugby
#94 Free Healthcare
#93 Music Piracy
#92 Book Deals
#91 San Francisco
#90 Dinner Parties
#89 St. Patrick’s Day
#88 Having Gay Friends
#87 Outdoor Performance Clothes
#86 Shorts
#85 The Wire
#84 T-Shirts
#83 Bad Memories of High School
#82 Hating Corporations
#81 Graduate School
#80 The Idea of Soccer
#79 Modern Furniture
#78 Multilingual Children
#77 Musical Comedy
#76 Bottles of Water
#75 Threatening to Move to Canada
#74 Oscar Parties
#73 Gentrification
#72 Study Abroad
#71 Being the only white person around
#70 Difficult Breakups
#69 Mos Def
#68 Michel Gondry
#67 Standing Still at Concerts
#66 Divorce
#65 Co-Ed Sports
#64 Recycling
#63 Expensive Sandwiches
#62 Knowing What’s Best for Poor People
#61 Bicycles
#60 Toyota Prius
#59 Natural Medicine
#58 Japan
#57 Juno
#56 Lawyers
#55 Apologies
#54 Kitchen Gadgets
#53 Dogs
#52 Sarah Silverman
#51 Living by the Water
#50 Irony
#49 Vintage
#48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
#47 Arts Degrees
#46 The Sunday New York Times
#45 Asian Fusion Food
#44 Public Radio
#43 Plays
#42 Sushi
#41 Indie Music
#40 Apple Products
#39 Netflix
#38 Arrested Development
#37 Renovations
#36 Breakfast Places
#35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report
#34 Architecture
#33 Marijuana
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism
#31 Snowboarding
#30 Wrigley Field
#29 80s Night
#28 Not having a TV
#27 Marathons
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
#25 David Sedaris
#24 Wine
#23 Microbreweries
#22 Having Two Last Names
#21 Writers Workshops
#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture
#19 Traveling
#18 Awareness
#17 Hating their Parents
#16 Gifted Children
#15 Yoga
#14 Having Black Friends
#13 Tea
#12 Non-Profit Organizations
#11 Asian Girls
#10 Wes Anderson Movies
#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside
#8 Barack Obama
#7 Diversity
#6 Organic Food
#5 Farmer’s Markets
#4 Assists
#3 Film Festivals
#2 Religions their parents don’t belong to
#1 Coffee
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
NIELSEN BDS TOP 10
Urban
Friday, May 14 2010
POSITION ARTIST TITLE
1 Trey Songz Neighbors Know My Na...
2 Usher Feat. Plies Hey Daddy (Daddy's H...
3 Monica Everything To Me
4 Timbaland Feat. Drak... Say Something
5 Rihanna Rude Boy
6 Ludacris Feat. Nicki... My Chick Bad
7 Gucci Mane Lemonade
8 B.O.B. Feat. Bruno M... Nothin' On You
9 Usher Feat. Nicki Mi... Lil Freak
10 Jay-Z Feat. Swizz Be... On To The Next One
Friday, May 14 2010
POSITION ARTIST TITLE
1 Trey Songz Neighbors Know My Na...
2 Usher Feat. Plies Hey Daddy (Daddy's H...
3 Monica Everything To Me
4 Timbaland Feat. Drak... Say Something
5 Rihanna Rude Boy
6 Ludacris Feat. Nicki... My Chick Bad
7 Gucci Mane Lemonade
8 B.O.B. Feat. Bruno M... Nothin' On You
9 Usher Feat. Nicki Mi... Lil Freak
10 Jay-Z Feat. Swizz Be... On To The Next One
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Rap Was the Only Genre That Gained In 2010...
So what do rappers know that the rest of us don't? Actually, that's a lengthy discussion, and one explored in-depth last October (see 'related article' below). But maybe a culture of rapid releases, mixtapes, DJ influencers, and modular production is proving a cockroach in this nuclear winter.
A curious stat just popped up. Just looking over Soundscan numbers for 2010, most genres suffered catastrophic declines. Rock dropped 16 percent, Alternative slumped 21 percent, and Classical tanked 26 percent. Country, which shed 5 percent, was the only genre spared a double-digit decline.
Yet Rap managed a 3 percent gain on US-based sales of 27.3 million albums. And, keep in mind that overall, albums decreased 12.7 percent.
Sounds great, but will it last? Perhaps this bubble deserves a pricking early on. Subtract out Eminem - whose Recovery scored sales of 3.4 million - and it looks like Rap is just another loser. And, digging back into previous years, it turns out that Rap has suffered its fair share of double-digit plunges. In fact, the genre commanded album sales of 75.1 million in 2005, only to drop 20.7 percent the following year.
A curious stat just popped up. Just looking over Soundscan numbers for 2010, most genres suffered catastrophic declines. Rock dropped 16 percent, Alternative slumped 21 percent, and Classical tanked 26 percent. Country, which shed 5 percent, was the only genre spared a double-digit decline.
Yet Rap managed a 3 percent gain on US-based sales of 27.3 million albums. And, keep in mind that overall, albums decreased 12.7 percent.
Sounds great, but will it last? Perhaps this bubble deserves a pricking early on. Subtract out Eminem - whose Recovery scored sales of 3.4 million - and it looks like Rap is just another loser. And, digging back into previous years, it turns out that Rap has suffered its fair share of double-digit plunges. In fact, the genre commanded album sales of 75.1 million in 2005, only to drop 20.7 percent the following year.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Rejected! Supreme Court Refuses to Toss Price-Fixing Suit Against Majors...
A suit accusing the four major labels of price-fixing will proceed, thanks to a blunt Supreme Court decision. That upholds an earlier ruling by a Federal Appeals Court in New York, based on significant evidence of pricing collusion starting in the early days of digital distribution.
How early? Well, this would be caveman times in the compressed scale of digital music civilization. The consumer lawsuit starts with label ventures pressplay and MusicNet, both aggressively-priced and extremely limited products. Of course, very few music fans bit, especially given limited catalogs, ponderous DRM restrictions, and oh-so-easy and free P2P alternatives.
But the price-fixing continued even when consumers came around, according to the suit. The drama ensued with allegedly-corroborated download pricing floors of 70 cents, though labels are of course denying this. The cooperation levers include 'most favored nations' (MFN) agreements, which essentially require any service to extend the most favorably-negotiated terms to all major label partners. That avoids a smokey room collaboration, but ultimately results in the same outcome.
The label request was denied without comment. Reference Supreme Court case Sony Music Entertainment v. Kevin Starr, No. 10-263.
How early? Well, this would be caveman times in the compressed scale of digital music civilization. The consumer lawsuit starts with label ventures pressplay and MusicNet, both aggressively-priced and extremely limited products. Of course, very few music fans bit, especially given limited catalogs, ponderous DRM restrictions, and oh-so-easy and free P2P alternatives.
But the price-fixing continued even when consumers came around, according to the suit. The drama ensued with allegedly-corroborated download pricing floors of 70 cents, though labels are of course denying this. The cooperation levers include 'most favored nations' (MFN) agreements, which essentially require any service to extend the most favorably-negotiated terms to all major label partners. That avoids a smokey room collaboration, but ultimately results in the same outcome.
The label request was denied without comment. Reference Supreme Court case Sony Music Entertainment v. Kevin Starr, No. 10-263.
If Major Labels Are Bleeding So Badly, Why Are They Still Creating the Biggest Artists?
Do we have to talk about the demise of the major label system again? Perhaps this is just a four-car pileup that demands a slow-down and stare. The lights are dimming at EMI, political upheaval is tainting UMG and Sony, and WMG is often considered 'next' for the wolves. But if the majors are bleeding so badly, then why are they still creating the biggest artists? And, perhaps more importantly, why aren't indies and DIYers even close to taking the lead?
Sure, indies and DIY artists have more fan access and traction than ever before. And major label artists are selling less every year. But manufactured acts like Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga are still perched atop the charts, and casting a long shadow over anything with indie cred. This isn't the way it was supposed to work out, and it's harder than ever to blame some Soundscan skew.
Why? For starters, Soundscan isn't the only chart barometer anymore. Take a gander at the BigChampagne Ultimate 100, and a somewhat-similar list of big-label priorities emerges. In fact, the latest Ultimate 100 lineup has less indie cred than a Celine show in Vegas. On the latest ranking, the top ten artists were Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Ke$ha, Eminem, Daft Punk, Taylor Swift, Black Eyed Peas, Lil Wayne, and Enrique Iglesias, in that order.
But how can that be? After all, BigChampagne is blending a broad number of online, offline, traditional, interactive, non-interactive, and physical elements into its rankings. Yet it still regularly produces chart toppers like Jason Derulo and Katy Perry, not Pomplamoose and Amanda Palmer. In fact, most of the top 100 are serious major label priorities.
Maybe the fantasy was that somehow, a total chart upheaval would result from all of this digital disruption. That big bullhorns like terrestrial radio wouldn't matter anymore, or that do-it-yourselfers would rise to superstardom without any serious backing. That artists like Corey Smith were dyed-in-the-wool DIYers, not musical careerists. Or, that the idea of big, mainstream artists would somehow vanish.
How naive we were.
-pr.
Join the early discussion at
http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/011011majorlabels
Sure, indies and DIY artists have more fan access and traction than ever before. And major label artists are selling less every year. But manufactured acts like Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga are still perched atop the charts, and casting a long shadow over anything with indie cred. This isn't the way it was supposed to work out, and it's harder than ever to blame some Soundscan skew.
Why? For starters, Soundscan isn't the only chart barometer anymore. Take a gander at the BigChampagne Ultimate 100, and a somewhat-similar list of big-label priorities emerges. In fact, the latest Ultimate 100 lineup has less indie cred than a Celine show in Vegas. On the latest ranking, the top ten artists were Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Ke$ha, Eminem, Daft Punk, Taylor Swift, Black Eyed Peas, Lil Wayne, and Enrique Iglesias, in that order.
But how can that be? After all, BigChampagne is blending a broad number of online, offline, traditional, interactive, non-interactive, and physical elements into its rankings. Yet it still regularly produces chart toppers like Jason Derulo and Katy Perry, not Pomplamoose and Amanda Palmer. In fact, most of the top 100 are serious major label priorities.
Maybe the fantasy was that somehow, a total chart upheaval would result from all of this digital disruption. That big bullhorns like terrestrial radio wouldn't matter anymore, or that do-it-yourselfers would rise to superstardom without any serious backing. That artists like Corey Smith were dyed-in-the-wool DIYers, not musical careerists. Or, that the idea of big, mainstream artists would somehow vanish.
How naive we were.
-pr.
Join the early discussion at
http://digitalmusicnews.com/stories/011011majorlabels
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