> Borders Books & Music is up for sale. (SVI)
> Bertelsmann reported annual earnings for 2007 and said that revenues from its share of Sony BMG fell 27.8% to $2.3 billion. CD sales 17% but digital sales jumped 40%. Digital amounts to 17% of total revenue up from 12% in 2006. (pdf of Bertelsmann's annual report) Sony BMG's revenue has 46.3% over the last five years and the number of employees at the label group dropped from 4,880 in 2003, to 2,851 in 2007. The drop in CD sales is predictable, but despite the jump digital's low % of revenue shows just how far SOny BMG is behind the curve.
> Social marketing apps creator SplashCast has grabbed $4 million in funding.The startuo already claims SonyBMG, Universal Music, MTV, AEG and PBS as clients. (press release)
> WATCH FOR THIS TREND TO SPREAD: The Smashing Pumpkins tell Spinner their going to release song not albums. "...I don't think we will make records again," the drummer explains. "...I look at it like the old business model is dead and the music business doesn't know how to move forward...Music has in many ways just become an advertisement for your tour..I think what we'll do is start releasing songs The record or CD format places too many limitations on your piece of art. People just don't buy records anymore. Anyone under the age of 24 just buys songs...I think what we'll do – not to let the cat out of the bag too much – is to create the framework where we can release a number of songs and maybe create a title. We can gather three or four songs, but it will all flow up to a larger body of work. But to call it record in the traditional sense would be anachronistic." (Spinner)
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