Home

Music Group

World Wrestling Entertainment Forms Music Group

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 27, 2006 - 11:34am.
New York - World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on Monday announced the formation of the WWE Music Group, a new division that will seek to license music for WWE productions, and also manage the prospective music careers of WWE performers. The WWE has released compilations of WWE Superstar theme songs, featuring tracks from artists including Three 6 Mafia, P.O.D. and Motorhead; WWE performer John Cena also recently released a hip-hop album on Columbia Records.
tags: World Wrestling Entertainment | Form | Music Group |

Warner Music Group IPO Raises $556 Million; Shares Fall 7%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 11, 2005 - 9:40am.
New York -- Shares of Warner Music Group fell more than 7% on their first day of trading, debuting at $17 and then falling to $15.75 before stabilizing in an initial public offering that raised about $556 million. The stock had been expected to debut at around $22 a share, but analysts cited an unclear future for the record label in the realm of digital music, as well as a public dispute with top-selling artists Linkin Park as fuel for the downturn. "When the vast majority of your sales are physical CD sales and the market is moving away from physical sales, your revenue model and how you alter your cost structure to adapt to that new revenue model are unknown," Fulcrum Global Partners analyst Richard Greenfield told Reuters. The smallest of the world's four major record labels was taken public by a group of investors led by former Seagram CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr., who acquired the label from Time Warner for $2.6 billion. There is some speculation the company may seek a merger with U.K.-based EMI, which would further narrow the market from four major record labels to only two.
tags: VC | IPO | Warner | Music Group |

New Owners to Cut 20% of Workforce at Warner Music Group

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 2, 2004 - 7:17am.
New York -- Warner Music Group (WMG), purchased this week for $2.6 billion from Time Warner by a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr., announced on Tuesday a restructuring that will see the company cut 20% of its global workforce of 5,300. The layoffs are expected to take place within the next 30 days. The company also announced the departure of several top executives, including Elektra chairman and CEO Sylvia Rhone; Atlantic Group co-chairman and co-CEO Val Azzoli; and Ron Shapiro, co-president of Atlantic Records. The company said that former Def Jam CEO Lyor Cohen -- recently named chairman and CEO of U.S. Recorded Music at WMG -- will serve as interim chairman at both Elektra and Atlantic until a final management structure is announced in the near future. "While the restructuring necessitates some painful changes, they are vital to creating a more agile organization that will allow us to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving marketplace and to take full advantage of future opportunities," said WMG chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr.
tags: Warner | Music Group | Workforce | New Owners |