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#699644 - 02/08/10 08:23 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: maxibad]
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teverett
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Come-on Teverett, all I get is a glance?
You are pretty good at sucking up to WMG most of the time,
I'd like to see that. But I'm not like BigB, demanding that you provide examples. I will state, without equivocation, that -- though I worked, always freelance, for WB mostly back in the '70s -- I can't think of a single thing I could say in their defense, going as far back as when Mo was "retired."
(Back when I was there, even then, there were rumors of EMI going out of business. A joke going around WB -- which had been started by old Capitol guys in the mid'-50s -- was that the only company who'd want to take over the Tower as corporate headquarters was the International House of Pancakes.
And oh, yes: for sake of full disclosure, I've been a salaried employee of both Capitol and Liberty/UA. Can't say anything good about EMI, either. But I have great respect for the catalogs of both companies, as well as deep dismay for the way it's been handled.)
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#699645 - 02/08/10 08:25 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: Melchizedek]
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goldears
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What's that sound? Oh, it's just everybody laughing at you.
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#699646 - 02/08/10 08:26 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: Melchizedek]
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nycbiscuit
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Registered: 09/24/02
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How many current acts does EMI have that WMG would want to keep? They are already handling much of their distribution worldwide so the backend is not a problem. It's still unclear whether the EU would accept merged pub divisions, although there are plenty who'd snap up EMI pub were it broken out. As it is it's the only asset worth much of anything. And as for the catalog, well, all the majors suck at dealing with catalog.
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#699647 - 02/08/10 08:29 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: nycbiscuit]
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goldears
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Collectors Choice and Wounded Bird are already the defacto catalog division of WMG. Collectors Choice has a good relationship with EMI. All the catalog you could want that has been too small for Rhino to deal with in in good hands.
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#699651 - 02/08/10 08:40 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: goldears]
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teverett
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Don't forget Collectibles, which puts out a lot of WEA catalog at a good price, though keeping it pretty much a secret.
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#699655 - 02/08/10 08:48 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: teverett]
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goldears
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Didn't forget Collectibles, but they seem to be quiet lately focusing instead on stuff like the Concord/Fantasy dump, the A&E dump...
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#699678 - 02/08/10 10:00 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: goldears]
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MichaelG
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Registered: 05/18/01
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London - Major record label EMI is planning "radical cost cuts, including a further reduction in its 3,500-strong workforce," in a bid to make the company more attractive to investors, the Telegraph reported. Terra Firma, the private equity firm that acquired EMI for $4.7 billion before the recession hit, is seeking an additional more than $160 million from investors, in order to meet loan repayment deadlines and prevent a possible takeover by lender Citigroup.
The cost-cutting initiative expects to shave "tens of millions of pounds" in costs, and include another round of layoffs -- following on the 3,000 staff laid off in 2008.
The Telegraph reports that EMI's plan envisions growing digital from 25% of total revenues to 75% within five years, and that the company plans to bolster its EMI Music Services licensing and merchandising unit.
"[The five-year business plan] will involve both an acceleration in revenues coming from product innovation at EMI Music Services and some cost reductions from the introduction of new systems and technology and the elimination of some duplication," EMI chief executive Elio Leoni-Sceti told the Telegraph.
"This will confirm our vision to evolve into a digitally-led music company.
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#699684 - 02/08/10 10:18 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: MichaelG]
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teverett
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Anybody see the Sunday NYT piece about Guy Hands?
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#699685 - 02/08/10 10:27 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: maxibad]
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Bill Lumbergh
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When MCA (pre-Universal) swallowed PolyGram, and when Sony merged and then swallowed BMG, weren't PolyGram and BMG superior in many respects, organizationally speaking, and insn't it true that many of those systems were kept in place rather than dismantled? So why would a superior EMI infrastructure be dismantled if WMG were to acquire EMI?
* disclaimer: I may be wrong; I just remember conversations with people who worked at those companies.
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#699688 - 02/08/10 10:35 PM
Re: WMG and EMI - Taking bets....
[Re: teverett]
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maxibad
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Not that this is a surprise but WMG is expected to report fiscal first-quarter loss of 14 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.
For a long time I have wanted Warner to be successful. I dont know if it is their long history or exactly what - perhaps just a name that was recognizable, but I was hopeful that Bronfman would be a deep pocketed savior, but that has never really helped.
Egar and Lyor treat the label as a play-thing. They like all the perks, the attention and love to rub elbos with stars which, I admit, is part of the allure for many in the business, but they profess to love music and love the industry. BLAH BLAH BLAH.
They sleaze around and promise much, but nothing comes of it. They have all the advantages in the world (noting again a great catalog) and cannot figure out how to make money. Nobody trusts them so deals fall apart essentially from the word go.
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