Sony BMG, Warner Music Downloads Missing at Wal-Mart

Songs from a larger number of Sony BMG and Warner Music Group artists are now unavailable from Wal-Mart's online music store, potentially the result of a licensing impasse between the parties. One source tied into the situation pointed to show-stopping disagreements related to the licensing of DRM-free content. (Digital Music News)

MySpace and Record Companies Create Music Site

As part of the deal, MySpace will spin out its popular MySpace Music service as an independent joint venture in partnership with Universal Music, Sony BMG and Warner Music Group. EMI, the fourth major label, is not a part of the deal at this time, but people involved in the negotiations said it would probably join soon. The music companies will own minority stakes in the venture and will make their entire music catalogs available. (NY Times, LA Times, Financial Times, Business Week, Billboard, AP, PaidContent, PR)

Why Won't the Music Business Hire Nerds?

Last Thursday, Portfolio broke the news that Warner Bros. Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. had hired ex–Geffen Music executive Jim Griffin to launch an innovative new initiative that will almost certainly fail to save the troubled recording industry. Under the proposed plan, Internet users would pay a tax (Griffin suggests $5) on top of their monthly service bill allowing them to download all the music they want. Obviously — as lots of irate nerds on the Internet have already pointed out — such a thing would likely never work for millions of reasons. Nevertheless, Bronfman has reportedly signed Griffin to a three-year contract to put the plan into action. (NY Mag)

Paying the Piper

Independent musicians express skepticism about industry idea to levy internet fee to pay for music. After Portfolio.com reported that Warner Music Group was exploring the idea of adding a monthly fee to consumers' internet-access bills to pay for music downloads, the digital music community rose up to ask: What about us? "It's the talk of the industry right now," Phil Crosland, the marketing chief of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, said. (Portfolio)

Sony BMG, Warner Near Deal With MySpace

MySpace's plan to launch a digital-music joint venture with the major record companies is picking up steam, as the social networking giant nears deals with Sony BMG and Warner Music Group, multiple sources familiar with the situation told The Post. The agreements could be signed as soon as this week. The service is expected to launch later this year. (NY Post)

Paolo Nutini backs Puma brand

The Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini and the sportswear brand Puma are the first to be brought together by a new Warner Music International division formed as part of the drive to find alternative revenue streams as CD sales decline and digital downloads fail to plug the gap. (The Guardian)

EMI favourite to buy Chrysalis as Warner drops out of race

EMI last night edged closer to winning the auction for Chrysalis, one of Britain’s last big independent music groups, as it emerged that rival Warner Music had been sidelined. EMI’s bid for Chrysalis, first revealed by The Times, surprised the industry, as it came at a time of a restructuring and cost cuts. The auction is expected to see Chrysalis, including the independent Bug Music label, valued at about £170 million. (Times Online)

The Refrain That Follows Bronfman

It was 2006, and Mr. Bronfman, the bearded scion of the Seagrams, seemed to have successfully reinvented himself as a music mogul after nearly losing his family’s fortune. It looked as if he had actually turned around Warner Music, which he had bought from Time Warner with a group of private equity firms. Warner Music had gone public, and its stock had nearly doubled. Mr. Bronfman had managed to cut $250 million in annual expenses at the company. His private equity partners had doubled their money. Mr. Bronfman’s critics, and there are legions of them, were stunned. (NY Times)

Warner signs 7digital MP3 deal in Europe

Warner Music has signed a deal with digital media site 7digital.com to provide its catalogue in the MP3 format, which can be played on nearly all music devices. Its catalogue -- with hits from James Blunt and the Red Hot Chili Peppers -- would be available to 7digital.com customers in the UK, Ireland, Spain, France and Germany. The site is the first major European download store to offer Warner's tracks in the DRM-free MP3 format. (Reuters)

Warner, iO Forge Africa Mobile Content Deal

Warner Music Gallo Africa has struck a strategic partnership with iO global which promises to pump the major's music across African mobile networks. Through the agreement, iO global, a global provider of integrated digital retail solutions, will distribute WMGA's audio content through its network of third-party wireless operators and mobile service providers in Africa. (Billboard)

Blogger Perez Hilton Could Play New Role at Warner Music

Mario Lavandeira, known to millions of fans as the gossip blogger Perez Hilton, has a habit of humiliating celebrities he dislikes by doodling explicit images across their photos on his Web site. But he has also long used perezhilton.com to rave about his favorite new music. And now the results of his effusive postings — “you will be foaming at the mouth!” — have attracted the notice of a major record label. (NY Times)

Warner Music’s digital chief steps down

Alex Zubillaga, Warner Music’s chief digital strategist, is leaving the company and will be replaced by Michael Nash, his deputy. Mr Zubillaga is expected to return to his roots as a media and technology-focused venture capitalist. He will be replaced as executive vice president of digital strategy and business development by Michael Nash, the senior VP on the digital strategy team. (Financial Times, Billboard, Red Herring, PR)

Warner Music Lobbied on IP Protection

Warner Music Group Corp., the label of Led Zeppelin and Josh Groban, spent $351,000 in 2007 lobbying to protect the intellectual property of its artists. The New York company lobbied on legislation dealing with performance rights and intellectual property issues. Warner Music spent $153,500 lobbying on those issues in the second half of 2007, according to a disclosure form posted online Wednesday by the Senate's public records office. (AP)

Major Label Fights Google-ization of Music With SeeqPod Lawsuit

In the world of online music, you're nobody until somebody sues you. Like so many music startups before it, the innovative MP3 search site SeeqPod finds itself staring down the wrong end of a major-label lawsuit from Warner Music. The site lets users search a massive catalog of music gathered from servers all over the world, and play the results right there on the page -- thus its motto, "playable search." SeeqPod doesn't let you download songs, but does let you save them into playlists to share with friends or access from connected computers and devices such as the iPhone. (Wired)

Warner Music Group downgraded to 'B1' on ongoing industry challenges - Moody's

Moody's Investor Services downgraded Warner Music Group Corp (WMG), citing the ongoing challenges within the recorded music industry. WMG's corporate family and probability of default ratings were lowered to 'B1' from 'Ba3' and the rating outlook was changed to stable from developing. In addition, Moody's lowered WMG Holdings Corp's senior discount notes rating to 'B3' from 'B2' as well as the ratings of WMG Acquisition Corp's senior secured loan to 'Ba3' from 'Ba2' and senior subordinated notes to 'B3' from 'B2'. Moody's also lowered WMG's speculative grade liquidity rating to 'SGL-3' from 'SGL-2'. (Thomson Financial)

Warners, Beggars Team On Gig Stream Service

Billboard.biz has learned that a group of industry giants, including Warner Music Entertainment (WME), Warner Music International's video-production arm, is to launch a U.K. Internet-delivered TV service devoted to live concerts. Called the Lovelive Channel and scheduled to launch this year, the service is being jointly developed with U.K. independent-labels company Beggars Group, live-music organizer Mama Group, and the online-video developer Perform Group. (Billboard)

WMG Execs: 'Smaller Scale' M&A; Imeem Investment; DRM-Free MP3s

"Growth, particularly mobile, remained on a slower trajectory,” Warner Music Group chief executive Edgar Bronfman, Jr. warned analysts and investors during the earnings call for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2007. But he also used his prepared remarks to talk big: “We continue to explore new business models that will accelerate digital growth. We are expanding our rights ... with new artists.” What was last year referred to as a revenue-share “partnership” - struck after WMG dropped a lawsuit against the social network Imeem in July - is now called an “investment”. (PaidContent)

Warner Music Group Corp. Reports First-Quarter 2008

Warner Music Group Corp. announced its first-quarter 2008 financial results for the period ended December 31, 2007. Total revenue of $989 million increased 7% from $928 million in the prior-year quarter, and grew 1% on a constant-currency basis. Digital revenue was $141 million, or 14% of total revenue, up 9% sequentially from $130 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and up 41% from $100 million in the prior-year quarter. (PR, Financial Times)

Warner Music Suing MP3 Search Engine Seeqpod

Warner Music Group (WMG) is suing Seeqpod, the most popular of a new breed of music search engine/players with a new twist on the original Napster strategy -- rather than let users download copies of other people's MP3s, it lets them listen to streaming MP3s hosted on other people's websites. The last numbers we saw pegged the engine's catalog at 8 million songs, and it's got a slick interface, quick response time, etc. Whether it's legal is a different matter. (Silicon Alley Insider)

Musical Marvel, Warner's Cohen Pushing Through Hard Times

Bragging rights in a slumping industry don't deliver much glory. Just ask Warner Music Group's Lyor Cohen. As the head of the company's North American recorded music operations he laid claim in 2007 to the most-improved performance among major record companies. Now he's off to a hot start in 2008 with rapper Flo Rida, whose hit "Low" tops the singles chart this week. Warner's stock, meanwhile, remains stuck in the cellar as overall CD sales sputter. The Post caught up with Cohen in his office last week for a rare interview to discuss the state of the music business. (NY Post)