Tagged: warnermusicgroup

Against a backdrop of a 4-5% rise in U.S. music sales industry-wide, Warner Music Group reported a net loss of $205 million for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011. Half the loss came in the fourth quarter. The company also warned of weak earnings for the current quarter ending December 31st. Speaking in his first earnings call as Warner Music Group, CEO Steve Cooper blamed much of the last quarter's loss on costs related to WMG's acquisition by Access Industries. Charge included professional fees ($46 million), severance ($10 million) and refinancing charges. In that same [...]

Oh Ladytron. You surprise us with such another lovely video. Quite an artistic, period video that is fashion-forward at the same time. Thanks to the lovely Miles Devin for the recommendation. Download the video: Download the song:

It has been so long since we heard a song from BT. This one is pretty great, taking us back to the days in the late 902s when his beats were so freaking hot. The track was produced by BT and Andrew Bayer. Some think this video is cheesy, but if you remember BT for who he always was - that dude that reminded us to get our PLUR (Peace Love Unity and Respect) on through music back at raves in the 902s. "The Emergency" Lyrics: Emergency has [...]

Aw, the Week of Wilco came to an abrupt and inglorious end. Warner Music Group pulled the YouTube videos of The Whole Love . This is kinda odd when you consider all those articles about how Wilco launched their own label, dBpm , with assistance from ANTI- for marketing and distribution . I don't think Warner is associated with either ANTI- or dBpm, and Wikipedia doesn't seem to think so , either. Wilco used to be on Nonesuch Records, which is a subsidiary of Warner. But why would Warner be able to [...]

No wonder he's smiling. Trusts controlled by Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. were sold for $5.96 million on May 27, May 31 and June 1 according to an SEC filing on June 1st. But this is not the last cash that Bronfman can take from WMG in the wake of the music group's sale to Access Industries. In addition to reportedly keeping his well paid job running WMG, Bronfman has direct ownership of 6.8 million shares of the company, according to the SEC filing. At the $8.25 a share winning bid [...]

Well, this is interesting.. Although the Warner Music Group CEO Lyon Cohen's is critical of "the excesses of the industry," which include "artificial barriers of distribution" and $19 dollars CDs, he is still adamant about the industry's recent push towards pursuing 360 deals. When Forbes' Zack O'Malley Greenburg asks him what do you say to critics about 360 deals, his response is "I don't listen to critics." Okay now.. There are still artificial barriers of distribution. Radio, TV, Magazines or "the old media" are still there but the internet has made them less important. [...]

With its pending sale to Access Industries looming, WMG reported Q2 results this morning; and the numbers, while not unexpected, showed that the music group's downward slide is far from over. The company reported a wider second-quarter net loss of $38 million or 25 cents per share versus $25 million or 17 cents per share a year ago. That beat analysts predictions slightly. 6 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss per share of 28 cents for the quarter. Total revenue for Q2 grew 2% to $682 million [...]

A close look at the profit and pitfalls of the major music labels.

Billionaire Len Blavatnik, won the bid to buy Warner Music for $3.3billion Some major shifts are happening as we speak to the big 4 in the music industry...two of them, Warner and EMI, where for sale to the highest bidder...and Warner was just acquired by billionare Len Blavatnik. Now British owned EMI is up for grabs and expected to go for sale later this year...And everyone is fighting hard to get their hands on it. It's good to finally see some change, in this broken label driven music industry. [...]

After it was revealed that the 3rd largest record label, Warner Music Group was up for sale last month, it didn't take very long to close a deal. Russian Oil tycoon, Len Blavatnik has reportedly

A couple of months ago we updated you on the state of the sale of one of music's giants, Warner Music Group . The estimated price in March was $1.4-2 billion with several companies interested in its purchase. It seems the negotiations were hard-fought since it has taken two months for the final buyer to be announced, and the price is much higher than we thought it'd be. Access Industries, owned by Russian Len Blavatnik, has bought out the label for $3.3 billion and acquired a $2 billion debt in the process. This was a pay out [...]

Despite slumping album sales and a murky industry, Warner Music Group remains a hot commodity. The label, which is home to the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Metallica, R.E.M., and Muse, among others, has been sold to Russian oil tycoon Len Blavatnik. According to the Los Angeles Times , Blavatnik's company, Access Industries, purchased the Warner Music Group Corp for $3.3 billion in cash. Blavatnik, who served as a Warner board member between 2004 and 2008, edged out more than a dozen other bidders including Sony Music Group and Live [...]

(UPDATED It's official, the new owner of Warner Music Group is Russian billionaire Len Blavatnik and his Access Industries . The purchase price of $3.3 billion in cash or $8.25 per share represents a 34.4% premium over the volume-weighted 6 month average share price of $6.14. Some observers expect the investor to next take a run at EMI and combine the two companies. Following the closing of the transaction, WMG will become a privately held company and its stock will no longer be traded [...]

JEFF the Brotherhood and Infinity Cat have inked a deal with Warner Music Group , which happens to be currently up for sale . This will apparently make Infinity Cat an imprint

The sale of Warner Music Group, for as much as $3 billion, could be completed this week, according to sources close to the negotiations, as the bidding companies has now been winnowed down to two. Live Nation and a group including Napster dude Sean Parker have dropped out, leaving just two finance groups who are interested in trying to become part of the music business and also lose a lot of money very quickly. This probably doesn't bode well for the sale of EMI, which has been stalled for about a year. Meanwhile, Warners went up for sale a few [...]

Is the life-support plug about to be pulled on Warner Music Group?

After piling up 1.9 billion dollars of debt, Warner Music Group is entertaining offers for the sale of the company. It was believed that WMG would focus on selling off pieces of the organization

So, maybe talk of a sale could be the best thing that has ever happened to Warner Music Group: The company's shares went up 16 percent yesterday, as talk of a buyout by Bertelsmann Media gains traction. Warner shares went up to $6.58, so it's not like they're suddenly worth hundreds of dollars, but it's still a positive for the company. I wonder how much of that money goes to the artists, though. [ DMN ]

Warner Music Group, the major label considered to be one of the "Big Four" labels in the music industry, is losing money. Rapidly. So much so that the giant conglomerate is being sold off and there are five companies looking to snag it, for the estimated sum of $1.4-2.0 billion. You may wonder why anybody would pay that much for a company that's losing money, and I wonder that too, but the five bidders, Sony Music, BMG Rights Management, Platinum Equity, Yucaipa Companies and Access Industries evidently believe that they can make something out of it. It's not [...]

The bidding war for the failing Warner Music Group is under way, with at reportedly at least five companies seriously fighting for the right to lose some money on a record label: Sony Music (which would make them a super conglomerate), BMG Rights Management, Platinum Equity, Yucaipa Companies and Access Industries, which already owns 2% of Warner. The huge news is that all five companies are willing to spend at least $1.4 billion on the company, which seems absurdly ridiculous. [ Hypebo t]