6 posts and columns on recorded music

A Veteran of Big Music Explains Why Big Music Is Doomed

in Media on February 9, 2010 at 3:30 am PT

A former Universal Music executive, now headed to Yahoo, explains concisely why his former employer and the other big guys are just playing out the string: CD sales are wasting away, and the digital boost they were counting on simply isn’t big enough.

Hulu Makes Its First Move Outside the U.S., Courtesy of a Reality Show You Don’t Know

in Media on December 18, 2009 at 3:00 am PT

Hulu is a big hit in the U.S. But even though the video site has spent a year trying to gain a foothold in other countries, you still can’t see it anywhere else. This should change early next year, but in the most limited way. Hulu plans to let users in the U.K., and most likely, other countries, access its U.S. site to watch a single show: The made-for-the-Web reality series, “If I Can Dream.”
If I Can Dream Hulu

Warner Music Earnings: Out of Tune

in Media on November 24, 2009 at 3:48 am PT

Warner Music Group has a mixed bag of results for Wall Street this morning: The music label’s revenue was a bit higher than analysts had expected. But even after factoring out one-time severance charges, the company lost three cents a share, and the Street was assuming it would earn four or five cents a share.

Shhh! EMI Posts Quietly Surprising Results.

in Media on November 23, 2009 at 8:06 am PT

The people who own EMI Music Group may regret the purchase, but here’s a tiny bit of good news: Sales crept up last year. And next year’s numbers, aided by the Beatles, may be better yet.
beatlesforsale

Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff: How to Make Money While Music Becomes “Demonetized”

in D7 on May 27, 2009 at 9:31 am PT

As a longtime music executive and talent manager, Irving Azoff has had to find a way to work with everyone from inebriated rock stars to David Geffen. But he’s never had to placate Washington, D.C. before. But that’s what Azoff needs to do in order to pull off the deal of a lifetime: A merger between his Ticketmaster Entertainment, which dominates the ticketing business, and Live Nation, which dominates the live concert business. When Azoff isn’t busy trying to convince people that the merger doesn’t violate antitrust regulations, or running his ticketing company, he manages the careers of everyone from the Eagles to Christina Aguilera. Note the one thing in the music business he doesn’t spend time on: Selling recorded music.
Irving Azoff