Major labels to merge?
NEW YORK (Tech News magazine) - If all goes as planned, the world's five major record labels will merge into three in the coming weeks or months. Banks are putting the final touches to a funding package of up to $1 billion to pay for EMI Group's bid for Time Warner's music arm, reports Reuters. At the ...
| Apple IPod uses track 'Hey Mama' by Black Eyed Peas for new ad campaign
NEW YORK (iTunes) - By now, everyone in America has seen and heard the new iPod commercial with the dancing silhouettes and the accompanying lyrics: "Hey Mama, it's the beat that make you groove mama... " Everyone is also probably wondering who performs that song. Well, wonder no more. "Hey Mama" is ...
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Universal Music cuts 1,350 jobs
NEW YORK (UMG Website/NYSE announcement) - Universal Music, the world's largest record company, is to slash 1,350 jobs - or 11% of its workforce - in order to cope with a protracted slump in sales. Global music sales have been in decline for more than three years, with the industry laying the blame ...
| eBay and UMG team up
NEW YORK (eBbay newsletter) - Starting tomorrow, eBay becomes the latest "strategic online retail channel for UMG and brings eBay enthusiasts unprecedented access to music from the world's largest music company, as well as artist memorabilia and unique opportunities to meet UMG's artists". You'll recall ...
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Scott Weiland has formed his own label 'Softdrive Records'
LOS ANGELES (Softdrive press release) - Scott Weiland the frontman of Velvet Revolver and former Stone Temple Pilots' singer has formed his own record label. Softdrive Records will be a joint venture with Interscope and was founded as "a way to nurture great new artists." The label will officially launch ...
| IFPI says sales fell by 10% in the first half of 2003
NEW YORK (IFPI) - The decline of the world music industry is accelerating according to figures on global sales of recorded music. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industries (IFPI) says sales fell by 10.9% in the first half of 2003, but by just 7.1% in 2002. The body blames the fall ...
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EMI talks for a merge with the Warner Music!
LONDON, UK (EMI) - UK music group EMI has confirmed it is to hold further talks with Warner Music as part of its long-running battle to acquire the US company. The British group, which faces competition from German rival BMG, is planning a takeover bid worth �920m. If a deal is reached it would create ...
| Apple Vs. Apple
LONDON, UK (Apple Corp/Apple Computers press releases) - Apple Corps, the London-based company formed by The Beatles in the 1960's, has sued Apple Computers over the iTunes online music store. Apple Corps claims that Apple's iTunes has violated the terms of a 1991 agreement between the two companies ...
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The Dead Kennedys establishes their own label 'Dirrty Records'
LOS ANGELES (Dirrty Rrecords press release) - D.H. Peligro, drummer for the Dead Kennedys announced today the formation of his new record label Dirrty Records. "Dirrty Records will provide a unique opportunity for its artists," says Peligro." Many artists including myself have faced obstacles presented ...
| TicketMaster to auction tickets
NEW YORK (TicketMaster) - TicketMaster announced today that it will introduce a new pricing system - tickets will be auctioned online to the highest bidder. The ticket giant claims the move will fight the spread of counterfeit tickets and scalping. Artists and promoters who choose to stick to the fixed ...
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Virgin offers 'cheapest' downloads
NEW YORK (Virgin Music/Cnet) - Music retailer Virgin Megastores has launched its own online downloading service, offering what it says are the cheapest tracks on the market. The store has singed a licensing deal enabling it to offer 200,000 songs. The tracks cost as little as 60p - if customers spend ...
| CD prices slashed!
NEW YORK (Universal) - Universal Music Group is cutting prices on CDs and cassettes in an aggressive move to curtail music piracy. UMG revealed plans Wednesday (Sept. 3) to reduce the suggested retail price of its top line CDs to $12.98 from current prices ranging from $16.98 to $18.98. Cassette prices ...
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UK album sales peak but industry profits dip
LONDON, UK (BPI) - Album sales in the UK have reached an all time high - but music industry profits are down. CD price wars and a continuing massive slump in singles sales have left record sales values down 4.1% in the year to June, according to new data from the British Phonographic Industry. During ...
| Chinese Democracy
NEW YORK (Industry News) - Chinese authorities took a stand against CD piracy yesterday by destroying 42 million smuggled and pirated discs. Government officials call the move the biggest-ever public destruction of illegal CDs and DVDs. China has long been a hotbed of pirated discs. Yesterday's public ...
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Mitch Bainwol is the new Chairman & CEO of RIAA
WASHINGTON DC (RIAA press release) - Mitch Bainwol, former Chief of Staff to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), was named today as Chairman & CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America by the RIAA Board of Directors. Cary Sherman, President and General Counsel of the RIAA, and ...
| Mottola revives Casablanca Records
NEW YORK (Motown Records) - Tommy Mottola, the music industry heavyweight former head of Sony Music and ex-husband of Mariah Carey, is relaunching Casablanca Records. Casablanca has been out of business for nearly 20 years, but it was one of the most successful and flamboyant American labels of the ...
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DW-TV launches a new, daily TV magazine show
BERLIN, Germany (Deutsche Welle, Euromaxx Press Release) euromaxx - DW-TV's new daily magazine show. Seven days a week, 365 days a year, bringing you the latest on lifestyle in Europe. Now, DW-TV viewers across the world can enjoy images and stories which reflect the rich variety of life in Europe. ...
| Why are music sales falling?
NEW YORK (Edison Media Research) - While there are a variety of reasons contributing to the downturn in music sales, the twin problems of downloading and burning are clearly the most potent ones, according to a recent national survey of 12 to 44 year olds conducted by Edison Media Research for the trade ...
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Country Music Magazine closes
MIAMI, Florida (American Media) - Country Music magazine, a respected leader in country music journalism, will cease publication with its August-September 2003 issue. Officials of American Media Inc., which owns Country Music and Country Weekly, notified its Nashville-based editorial staff of the decision ...
| Music Industry decline to continue?
NEW YORK (PWC Website) - The U.S. music business will continue its decline for at least another four years, according to financial analysts Pricewaterhousecoopers' "Report on Global Entertainment and Media." Familiar suspects are being blamed for the lost revenues - including CD-burning and file-sharing, ...
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