Money, Get Away!

All I’ve heard about for the past couple of weeks is how money is destroying our lives.

The people that had it, lost it, those that don’t have it still don’t have it and the folks that need it, can’t get it.

Reports from the entertainment industry have mirrored the general markets. As of October 10th, the numbers for the major music companies are as follows:

• WMG - $5.95 off a 52 week high of $11.50
• Sony - $23.51 off a 52 week high of $57.19
• Apple- $88.74 off a 52 week high of $202.96
• Sirius XM - $.40 off a 52 week high of $3.94*
• Viacom - $20.68 off a 52 week high of $44.95
• Live Nation - $11.74 off a 52 week high of $24.03
• RealNetworks - $3.63 off a 52 week high of $7.61

*NASDAQ normally de-lists sub $1 stocks, but the exchange is considering an exception based in current market conditions.

This looks very depressing but on the other hand, we can’t give up on our entertainment. What keeps us working day in and day out is the thought of Friday night’s rock show, catching a good flick at the theater, buying that awesome home entertainment package and inviting good friends over for a entertaining evening!

Let’s take some lyrics from the classic Pink Floyd tune, “Money”:

Money, its a crime.
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today.
But if you ask for a raise its no surprise that they’re
Giving none away.

To solve this problem, I vote for Emma’s plan on the latest episode of “News and Views”. She encourages us to put our cash in a shoe box and stash it under our beds. That way we are responsible for our own piggy banks and can get back to the basics of enjoying our short time on this earth…

Jodi

Money, Get Away!

WMG Mafia Tactics

This just in, Warner Music Group wants more money for music video game sales!

Just when things look up with Rock Band's 12 million sales of tracks, WMG's chief executive, Edgar Bronfman, states, "The amount being paid to the music industry, even though their games are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small."

That all may be true, but isn't it a little late? They already sold 12 million tracks for the game, do you think that in later games people will be willing to pay a larger price? Price from what I've seen is already around $1.99x + $159(special edition). Add a dollar to the equation and chief up there thinks "whats going to be the difference?"

Money drives all industries, and I'm sure the company that owns Rock Band is using the money to expand on their games, which will help push more artists for majors and indies. Just because WMG's stocks have fallen, Sony BMG is now SMEI (Sony Music Entertainment, Inc), and indies have grown past what was expected, they want to increase their prices to a successful business in mafia like standards. I would think that if Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and other games like that helped raise awareness of bands and increase record sales, they would keep the cut they are getting or charge less to get more benefits later on from improved games.

Hey, chief, I guess in that nice business chair that maybe lost a wheel, or that nice fedora hat that let a screw drop out your head, you are getting nervous that a growing trend in the music industry is making more money than you thought, so you want a larger piece of the pie. I'm not going to lie, if I was expecting to make a small pie, and it ended up bigger than I thought, I would want a larger piece too. At least I cooked the pie, and didn't just take a larger slice when I saw my friends slice may be comparable to mine.

Inspired by the Billboard.biz Article - Warner Music: Music Video Games Must Pay More

From the mind of
Keveeno

WMG Mafia Tactics