11/29/2007

in

Warner Music Group reports 58% drop in 4th quarter net income

ray anderson

Once again, another record company is reporting losses, as the Warner Music Group points its finger at slumping international sales and illegal downloads as the culprits.  
  
According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. sales rose 8.9%, but were offset by an 8% spike in international sales, mainly in the U.K, Spain, France and Japan. The decline in industry pressure and light international release schedule is to blame, the company says.  
  
On the bright side, revenue from legal online downloads and mobile music rose 25% and represented 15% pf the companies total revenue.  
  
Maybe it's finally time for record companies to seriously rethink their strategies when it comes to selling music. For the most part, when I buy music, it's ripped, then put into my huge CD book, and the files are transferred right into the ipod. Nobody buys music the traditional way anymore, and as long as the companies keep spending money on packaging they'll continue to lose.