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01 Feb 2011 22:59

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Biz, Music: Citigroup owns EMI: Will they start selling CDs at bank branches?

  • 2007 In one of the most un-rock-‘n’-roll moves a major label has ever done, private equity firm Terra Firma, led by financier Guy Hands, buys EMI for $6.7 billion, $4.3 billion of which was loaned to Terra Firma by Citigroup in a deal which looks really stupid in retrospect.
  • 2011 A few years after the financial crisis made that deal look like a really stupid idea, the musical home of Radiohead, Blur and The Beatles was just taken over by Citigroup. Which means that the company that runs your ATM also sells the Beastie Boys’ catalogue. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jan 2011 14:59

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Biz: Warner Music Group looking for buyer; do you guys take $50s?

The Warners, which are actually doing rather well compared to their music-industry competitors, saw their stock rise in the wake of the news. Hope we can stil afford it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jul 2010 10:59

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Music: Taylor Swift: Can she sell a million copies in her first week?

  • It feels like if anybody can do it now, she could be the one. She has the sales base and heat from the last few albums. And with all the amazing things she has going on, she is as likely as anybody to reach a million units, especially with the efforts of Big Machine and Universal behind her.
  • Red Light Management and ATO Records president and CEO Will Botwin • Regarding the chances Taylor Swift can actually manage to sell a million copies of her upcoming “Speak Now” in its first week. While Eminem got close recently, thanks to his 741,000-strong debut of “Recovery” back in June, Swift could really pull it off. The things that might hold her back, though? Well, her digital sales have been traditionally weak, her label might charge the full sticker price for her album, her style of music limits how many formats would be willing to play her songs, and it’s possible she may have peaked already. At age 20. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2010 11:27

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Music: Thom Yorke says what we were all thinking about the music industry

  • When the corporate industry dies it will be no great loss to the world. So don’t tie yourself to the sinking ship because, believe me, it’s sinking.
  • Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke • Discussing the fall of music industry capitalism in a British textbook. He seems to have a good handle on this. He left his big corporate label, EMI, just a couple years before they fell into particularly dire straits. EMI is now the property of private equity firm Terra Firma, and since the 2007 acquisition, they’ve had massive debt and restructuring problems. (via Pitchfork) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jan 2010 12:53

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Politics: Bono’s busy schedule: Stop file-sharing, defeat AIDS, save Africa

  • Perhaps movie moguls will succeed where musicians and their moguls have failed so far, and rally America to defend the most creative economy in the world, where music, film, TV and video games help to account for nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product.
  • U2 lead singer Bono • Regarding file-sharing’s danger to the content industries. As crazy as this quote is, it starts out even crazier: “But we know from America’s noble effort to stop child pornography, not to mention China’s ignoble effort to suppress online dissent, that it’s perfectly possible to track content.” This guy is just as arrogant and full of it as the glasses and haircut (and crappy recent music) suggest. He compared file sharing to child porn and free speech. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

22 Jul 2009 10:36

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Biz, Tech: TechDirt approaches blogging like tech-savvy musicians

  • If only we could do this. Then we’d truly be smart. TechDirt, a popular technology blog well-known for taking the music industry to task for its heavy-handed approach to technology, has gone out of its way to champion artists who have fully embraced the promotional tool technology can be, such as Trent Reznor and Jill Sobule. Now, they’ve gone a step further and used these very techniques as tools to promote the site. Give a donation of a certain amount, and you can become a member of the site’s music club or book club and get tons of amazing goodies. Give a bit more and the site will review your business model. Genius, kids. Genius. *golf clap* source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Jul 2009 20:48

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Tech: Great news! Pandora (and other ‘net radio) gets to stay alive!

  • Internet radio became an industry off the radar of the major labels, starting with no rules and constricting over time. The environment has thus far allowed for the growth of sites like Pandora and Last.fm. source
  • For years, record companies, songwriters and publishers wanted their fair share. Unfortunately, that fair share was so high that it threatened to kill sites like Pandora. Enter stalemate. source
  • Today, Pandora and SoundExchange agreed to 40-50% lower rates which will allow Pandora and others to keep operating. The rates are still higher than the FM dial, but they can live with them. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Jun 2009 20:45

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Tech, U.S.: We swear, this RIAA case must’ve had the dumbest jury ever

  • 24 songs Number of MP3s file-sharer Jammie Thomas-Rasset was being sued over by the RIAA source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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