Talks stall in Clear Channel buy-out

Clear Channel’s proposed $19bn buy-out remained on shaky ground Tuesday as private equity firms and banks remained at loggerheads over terms of the deal’s financing. Neither side had been in contact for the past few days, according to a person familiar with the matter, suggesting a stalemate. Clear Channel, the largest US radio station operator, has become a test of banks’ willingness to fund highly leveraged private equity deals agreed when credit was readily available and inexpensive. (Financial Times)

Justice Dept. OKs merger of XM, Sirius; now it's up to FCC

The Justice Department gave its OK on Monday to a deal that would put Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey under the same satellite radio company roof. Antitrust officials said that they saw no reason to block or put conditions on Sirius' acquisition of XM, leaving consumers with a single satellite radio provider. "We determined that we did not have evidence to support a challenge," says Thomas Barnett, who heads the antitrust division. (AP, Financial Times, PR)

Social Networking: New Ways For Radio To Communicate

At Monday afternoon's "Social Networking: The New Radio?" panel at Radio Ink's Convergence conference, moderator McVay Media Assoc. Consultant/New Media Rockie Thomas noted that social networking --popular websites like MySpace and Facebook -- is about creating conversations, and said, "We're broadcasters. It's what we do." Social networking, she said, lets radio have a two-way conversation with its listeners. (Radio Ink)

CBS Radio Signs Exclusive Agreement to Power AOL Radio

CBS RADIO and AOL today announced a ground breaking partnership whereby CBS RADIO will power AOL Radio (http://radio.aol.com), combining two of the largest online radio networks and giving millions of listeners unlimited and free access to the most diverse lineup of programming available. Additionally, the two companies will work together to create a number of product enhancements including a new player, as well as complete support for the Mac. (PR)

Sirius Says It Could Do Without XM

Sirius Satellite Radio said that it gained subscribers in the fourth quarter and lost less money, signs that its business is improving even as the company's merger with XM Satellite Radio Holdings remains stuck in a regulatory limbo more than a year after it was proposed. (Washington Post)

Mobile users tune-in to the radio

A TNS Global Telecoms Insight study said that the use of MP3 players on mobile phones rose by 78 per cent last year, but that radio via mobile went up by 140 per cent. Growth has occurred in all 29 countries surveyed, particularly in Latin America and emerging Asia regions, where 45 per cent of users list FM/AM radio as one of their top three choices for purchasing a mobile phone. (VNUNet)

XM Satellite Radio Increases Revenue, Narrows Loss

As the company continues to wait for a decision from federal regulators concerning its proposed merger with rival Sirius reported quarterly revenue of $308 million, up 20% from the same period in 2006, and a net loss of $239 million, down $18 million. (DigitalMediaWire, PR)

Canada : Music industry groups squabble over proposed music tax

The Copyright Board of Canada has reaffirmed a hefty music royalty hike for Canadian musicians whose music is played on the radio, ruling they should be paid at the same rates as in 2005. Three years ago Canada's private-sector radio stations were caught off-guard when the board decided to increase the royalties paid to musicians by 30 per cent. The updated ruling keeps the 2005 rates in place, even though the Copyright Board was slapped with a court order in 2006 forcing it to reconsider the 2005 decision, which affects royalties musicians were to collect for music performed on radio between 2003 and 2007. (National Post)

More Listeners, More Money: Online Radio Growth Continues

Accustream iMedia Research pointed to a 26.1 percent increase in total listening hours in 2007 to 4.85 billion.  That is drawing more advertiser interest, though the group credited heavyweights Clear Channel and Citadel Broadcasting for drawing the most advertising visibility.  In total, internet radio billings topped $80 million in 2007, according to the group, almost triple sales of $26.9 million in 2006. (Digital Music News)

Buyout of Clear Channel gets US antitrust approval

The Justice Department said it would not oppose the $20 billion acquisition of San Antonio, Texas-based Clear Channel by Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners, as long as Clear Channel divested radio stations in four U.S. cities. Under an agreement with the department, Clear Channel will divest radio stations in Cincinnati, Houston, Las Vegas and San Francisco. (Reuters)

Exec Pledges Radical Expansion Of Radio Delivery

Radio Advertising Bureau president Jeff Haley unveiled a bold industry mission to put radio receivers "on every mobile phone, PDA and MP3 player within the next five years" during his keynote speech at the RAB 2008 conference in Atlanta. Making radio available on every mobile phone could bring the radio industry an additional $3 billion in incremental revenue. "We need to be everywhere there is a speaker and headphones," he said. (Billboard)

Last.fm to pay royalties for streamed songs

Last.fm has agreed to pay royalties to musicians for songs it streams over the web. The internet radio site has agreed to pay royalties to broadcast collection society, the PPL and the songwriter and composer society, the MCPS-PRS. Financial details of the deals were not disclosed but PPL's licence for interactive usually commands 0.0773 pence per track per stream. (New Media Age, Billboard)

Clear Channel closer to sale

Clear Channel's nearly $20bn buy-out cleared a hurdle yesterday when the Federal Communications Commission granted its approval to the radio group's sale to two private equity firms. The FCC gave its blessing after Clear Channel agreed to divest itself of 42 radio stations in the top-100 US markets. The sale, to private equity firms Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee, has come into question in recent weeks because of the fragility of the credit markets and the continued weakness in the radio industry. (Financial Times)

Sirius and XM merger approval close?

Briefing.com, a site that is widely followed by traders, is citing an unnamed report Wednesday morning saying that “XMSR-SIRI merger could receive approval from DoJ and FCC tonight.” That isn’t much in the way of any real information. but don’t tell that to Wall Street. Shares of XM were up nearly 4 percent in mid-morning trading while Sirius’ stock gained more than 5 percent. This is worth noting considering that the rest of the stock market, and the tech sector in particular, is trading lower Wednesday, thanks in large part to Apple’s (AAPL) disappointing outlook. (CNN Money)

Last.fm, Majors Finalize Deals

Last.fm, the music-based social network now owned by CBS, has finalized licensing agreements with all four major record labels, as well as a number of independents labels and their aggregators. The service now allows free, on-demand streaming of up to 3.5 million tracks, but according to CBS will soon expand well beyond that. In addition to the label deals, the company also introduced an "Artist Royalty" program for independent artists. These artists can upload their music directly to Last.fm, and receive payment for each stream. (Billboard, Paidcontent, Financial Times)

SoundExchange Finds Little Love on Satellite Appeal

The US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) recently denied an appeal by SoundExchange to reconsider satellite royalty rates. SoundExchange, which represents recording industry interests, initially expressed dissatisfaction with a ruling delivered in early December of last year. That decision set recorded royalty rates at 6 percent of gross revenues, a level that ramps to 6.5 percent by 2009, and 7.5 percent by 2010. Part of the disagreement stemmed from the methods used for calculating applicable gross revenues, though the Board refused to retune. (Digital Music News)

FCC OKs Clear Channel Buyout

The Federal Communications Commission has signed off on the $19.5 billion deal that will take the nation's largest radio broadcaster private, an agency official said Thursday. Clear Channel is being taken private by a group led by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC for $39.20 a share. Shareholders already have approved the transaction. The buyout still needs approval from the Justice Department. (AP)

HD, Satellite Radio Subscribers Headed Toward 70 Million, Report

Emerging radio technologies are poised to attract serious buy-in by 2012, according to a recent projection by Dallas-based Parks Associates. The researcher projected a total of 70 million subscribers in the United States over the next five years, up from an estimated 24.7 million in 2008. At present, satellite radio has more than 20 million subscribers, while HD - or digital - radio has attracted roughly 4 million. (Digital Music News)

Clear Channel buy-out doubts grow

The $19.5bn leveraged buy-out of Clear Channel Communications, the US radio and outdoor advertising group, could be the next victim of the storm in the deal world. Scepticism that Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital will go through with their purchase on the original terms has been fed by the falling share prices of comparable companies. Clear Channel’s stock traded on Monday at $35.06, a discount to the $39.20 price the buyers agreed in May 2007, which suggests that investors are betting against the deal. (Financial Times)