wax&wires

I predicted back in January that one thing to watch for in 2009 would be Guy Hands to pawn off EMI to the highest bidder, with Warner as a strong contender. It looks like a chain of events has kicked off that could lead to such a conclusion.

Elektra Records has been dormant since 2004. Now, the founder of Fueled By Ramen will try to inject some new life in the 60-year-old label.

I had no idea how much Reznor actually made last year. Here, Masnick breaks down why his business model works, and if and how it would work for lesser known artists.

We’re running out of graves for the few indie radio stations left, so it seemed about time for a check-in on big radio.

I snagged this video from Kyle Bylin. There are some very interesting points made in it, and a fair amount of animosity to boot.

Check out the full feature of the music documentary exploring why only a handful of companies control the majority of music played on the radio and held in retail stores.

After 3 months writing in the Caribbean, Amy Winehouse’s label has asked her to return to the recording studio to put out an album with a sound that’s… well… not reggae.

There’s been a lot of buzz about the Ticketmaster/Live Nation deal, especially after the fallout concerning Bruce Springsteen tickets in New Jersey. Just prior to all of that, WSJ had an article on Live Nation’s Chief Executive Michael Rapino, and how he hopes to replace the record label as the artist’s primary industry partner. Rapino [...]

The struggling music units of Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG merged in 2004 so that a combined company could better fend off illegal file sharing and shrinking CD sales.
The new recording company, named Sony BMG, was expected to wield the kind of resources that could challenge Universal Music Group as the largest of the four [...]

Whether it’s due to their stronghold in current popular genres (folk, blues, and the aptly named “indie” rock), or a genuine democratization of the playing field, independent music seems to be on the rise.
[via dailyswarm]
Independent artists and labels had a banner year at the 2009 Grammy Awards winning 56 of the 110 awards given or [...]

Would you pay a couple hundred dollars for every CD and DVD a label is going to release this coming year, sight unseen?
Indie label Equal Vision Records is asking fans to do just that. With the launch of EVR365, fans can select from 3 packages allowing them to get prereleased copies of EVR albums through [...]

US District Judge James P. Jones has ruled that copyright holders cannot equate each illegal download with a lost sale. Just because somebody downloaded your song, doesn’t mean that they would have purchased it otherwise. Practically what that means is that you cannot seek restitution based on the amount that hypothetically would have been gained [...]

Steve Bowman (stevethedrummer.com)Steve Bowman, the acclaimed drummer of Counting Crows and Third Eye Blind, gives us an insider’s perspective on record labels. He breaks down bands’ label options into three categories, and breaks the posts up the same way:
Part 1 – The Majors
Part 2 – The Independents
Part 3 – Creating Your Own Label
These are great [...]

Contract negotiations between Warner Music Group and YouTube broke down last week prompting Warner to order the removal of all WMG content from YouTube. The order pertains not only to artists currently on Warner Music’s major labels, but also extends to all songs published on Warner/Chappell music.

Warner was the first major media company to negotiate a contract with YouTube back in 2006. Warner, along with Universal Music Group and Sony Music, took stakes in YouTube back in that same year as part of contract negotiation deals, and profited when Google purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion shortly thereafter. Warner feels that their 2006 contract brought legitimacy to YouTube, strongly contributing to the Google acquisition.

YouTube currently pays WMG on a per-play basis…

Back in March of this year, Warner Music Group brought on digital music guru Jim Griffin to consult on how to combat illegal file sharing and recoup some revenue from an ever depleting amount of CD sales.