quarta-feira, 22 de agosto de 2007

Música e marcas

Continuo a ter alguma dificuldade em aceitar que a música tenha que se associar a marcas de produtos para sobreviver. Fica aqui uma perspectiva norte-americana da Arts Management Network:

Market Forces Powering Sponsorship and Co-Branding Arrangements

The changing global market climate is making corporate-music partnership more viable and desirable than in the past. For companies in all industries, old methods of marketing, such as traditional advertising, are working less effectively as too many messages vie for attention and ultimately drown each other out. At the same time, new technologies--the Internet, wireless systems, and more--are providing new means of communicating. These new technologies are enabling an unprecedented level of feedback from customer to marketer, and this in turn is reinventing marketing itself. To a greater degree than ever, companies can develop relationships with customers that involve finding out their needs, preferences, and habits such that products can be precisely tailored to those needs. Companies become, in effect, partners
in enabling consumers to achieve their dreams. It’s a far cry from the days of developing an untested product and foisting it on the public with misleading ads.
An accompanying effect of this company-customer partnership is that companies are seen as more benign and people-friendly than in the past. Companies and their customers are becoming communities of common interests. (Think of Apple Computer, the maker of iPods, and its quasi-cult of adherents.) Recognizing this, and wanting to extend it, companies are increasingly associating themselves with music and musicians to enhance their brand and communicate a corporate personality to customers.
Simultaneously, these companies are hungry to use every available communications tool to reach their audiences. Music, many companies have concluded, can be perfect for projecting their messaging through some of these tools.
Music also can be a tool for localizing a corporate message. A multinational company may want to tailor its offering to a specific territory. It can signal this effort by using a locally popular performer in its ads. From the musician’s perspective, the value of the corporate sponsor is fairly obvious.
A corporate sponsor may have far more clout, in both media access and pure financial muscle, than any music company. How much more clout? Consider that in 2004, retail sales for the entire worldwide music industry totaled around $32 billion. Then consider that retail sales in the same year for Proctor & Gamble--one multinational company-- totaled more than $54 billion. One company earned 40 percent more than the entire music business. No wonder that record companies are increasingly seeking commercial partners to help promote their acts.
So is born the partnership of corporation and recording artist. It’s not new, of course.
But today it has taken on greater importance as the costs of marketing music worldwide have increased, corporations have become more eager to underwrite the development af artists who can promote a company’s values, and artists have begun viewing corporate work as less stigmatizing than in the past, when it was viewed as “selling out.” (As an executive at ad agency Saatchi and Saatchi noted, “Some musicians have this distaste for ads as ‘dirty’ selling. But here’s a bulletin: record promotion is selling, too. It’s all about selling.”) Now, artists are being encouraged by their record companies to sell their music in all possible ways, including ads and corporate cobranding.
Some examples of musicians benefiting from use in ads, culled from the MIDEM 2006 magazine: Hip-hop artist Chris Classic’s track “Unleashed” was featured in ads for DaimlerChrysler’s car the Dodge Charger. Afterward, some 20,000 fans contacted the record company to buy the track. Another act had a track used on a Saatchi and Saatchi ad campaign, spawning flurries of e-mails from kids asking where to buy the song.
Those examples represent fairly traditional uses of music for selling other products.
Hit songs have been licensed by ad agencies for a long, long time. And star performers have rented themselves out to advertisers since the dawn of mass communication.
(Remember Michael Jackson’s Pepsi commercials?) But the landscape has been changing.

Trends that have begun to reshape the market for sponsorship and co-branding include the following:
● New kinds of business arrangements, including joint ventures between corporate brands and music providers
● Opportunities for corporate brands to get into exclusive content creation, ownership, and exploitation
● Brands becoming media players
● The creation of agencies devoted to matching bands with brands

Novo estudo sobre pirataria contraria outros sobre os seus beneficios económicos

Report: Piracy Has Cost U.S. $12.5 Billion

A new study released today by the Texas-based Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) estimates that global piracy of recorded music has cost the United States $12.5 billion in economic output and 71,060 jobs annually.

Fonte: Billboard

segunda-feira, 20 de agosto de 2007

Mudanças no capital financeiro da EMI começam a ter os seus efeitos

EMI To Cancel LSE Listing On Sept. 18

EMI Group plc expects to de-list from the London Stock Exchange on Sept. 18 as it prepares for a new era under the ownership of equity house Terra Firma, the British music major reports.

Fonte: Billboard

quinta-feira, 16 de agosto de 2007

allofmp3.com chief found not guilty

EMI, Universal and Warner have had their case for damages claims against the former head of controversial download site allofmp3.com thrown out of a Russian court

Fonte: Music Week

quarta-feira, 8 de agosto de 2007

A concentração capitalista no sector livreiro continua em ritmo acelerado...


Paes do Amaral concretiza aquisição da editora Gailivro
DAVID MANDIM

Editora nortenha confirma que negócio está no "bom caminho"

O grupo editorial de Miguel Paes do Amaral vai concretizar nas próximas semanas a aquisição da Gailivro, editora nortenha especializada em livros escolares."Tivemos o primeiro contacto há dias e as negociações estão em cima da mesa. Nada está concretizado mas estamos no bom caminho", disse ao DN Carlos Letra, administrador e sócio maioritário da editora com sede em Vila Nova de Gaia. Carlos Letra adiantou que o negócio, a concretizar-se, "será muito bom para o campo editorial", explicando que é "muito difícil uma pequena editora resistir perante a má governação do Ministério da Educação (ME) no que toca aos manuais escolares".O editor aponta mesmo que estava condenado a "ir à falência", porque a política governamental "impede a edição de livros de qualidade e coloca as nove pequenas editoras sem possibilidade de competir". O ME tem ideias "retrógradas" e segue um caminho errado: "Parece que querem que haja livros mais fracos só para serem mais baratos." Por isso, argumenta Carlos Letra, o ideal "é mesmo ter três ou quatro grupos fortes, com possibilidades de oferecer produtos de qualidade".A aquisição da Gailivro pelo grupo de Paes do Amaral é, desta forma, praticamente certa. "Falava-se muito, mas posso garantir que o primeiro contacto aconteceu há dias. Não posso revelar mais sobre as negociações, mas em Setembro devemos ter tudo resolvido", avança Carlos Letra.A Gailivro deve assim passar para o universo das editoras geridas por Paes do Amaral (entre as quais a Texto, Caminho e Asa). Carlos Letra deixará, em princípio, a administração e passará a integrar o gabinete didáctico-pedagógico do grupo.A Gailivro tem uma quota de mercado nacional de 23% no que respeita à edição de manuais para o primeiro ano de escolaridade. Edita cerca de 12 manuais escolares por ano e 160 livros na área da literatura infantil. Carlos Letra destaca ainda que têm 89 livros editados que estão incluídos no Plano Nacional de Leitura.Quanto às futuras apostas, os objectivos serão definidos pelo novo grupo proprietário, caso o negócio, como tudo indica, se venha a concretizar.
Fonte: DN

terça-feira, 7 de agosto de 2007

O conceito de Entretenimento

Alguns agentes culturais e em especial os ligados à música tendem a 'vender' como novo um discurso sobre a cultura como entretenimento. Nada que não, para variar, não seja um conceito criado e desenvolvido em outras paragens e 'vendido' com novo pelas nossas...


EMI agrees tourism deal
Britain’s national tourism agency, VisitBritain, has agreed a partnership with EMI Music to help drive awareness of Britain as a tourist destination by highlighting its rock and pop music heritage.

Fonte: Music Weekly Daily

Reduções no Ministério da Cultura

Cultura dispensa um quarto dos funcionários, Diário Económico de 07-08-2007

O Ministério da Cultura vai dispensar quase 25% dos seus 3.700 funcionários públicos, no âmbito do Programa de Reestruturação da Administração Central do Estado (PRACE), apurou o Diário Económico. Um despacho interno do Ministério da Cultura dirigido aos serviços e organismos, no âmbito da preparação do Orçamento do Estado (OE) para 2008, fixa O número total de postos de trabalho naquele Ministério em 2.771. Segundo a Base de Dados dos Recursos Humanos da Administração Pública (BDAP) divulgada em Setembro do ano passado, existem 3.643 funcionários no Ministério tutelado por Isabel Pires de lima, o que significa que 872 serão dispensados.

segunda-feira, 6 de agosto de 2007

O ataque ao controlo dos ISPs....

A ideia de que as grandes operadoras de telecomunicação, que em última instância são as principais responsáveis pela troca ilegal de ficheiros, seriam intocáveis começa agora a ser colocada em causa com uma decisão dos Tribunais belgas contra um ISP...

Belgian ISP will appeal order to block file-sharing
OUT-LAW News, 20/07

Belgian ISP Scarlet has appealed against a surprise court ruling forcing it to filter customers' traffic for unlawful file-sharing. The Belgian ISP Association says that the trial judge did not examine the law closely enough.
Scarlet, formerly a wing of Italy's Tiscali, was ordered earlier this month to use Audible Magic software to scan peer-to-peer (P2P) network traffic and block files identified as unauthorised copyrighted material. It was the first time in Europe that an ISP was held responsible for the content of its subscribers' traffic.
ISPs are protected by laws deriving from the E-Commerce Directive, which protect such 'mere conduits’ from liability for the content of their traffic. The Belgian court's ruling challenges the limits of that protection.
Laws emanating from another EU Directive, the Copyright Directive, in some circumstances run counter to the E-Commerce Directive by giving copyright owners certain powers over intermediaries whose services are used for piracy.
Geert Somers is the head of the legal work group at the Belgian ISP Association (ISPA). He told weekly technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio that he believes that the E-Commerce Directive's protection for ISPs must take precedence over other directives.
"The E-Commerce Directive needs to be seen as prevailing over the Copyright Directive," he said. "As a matter of fact I think that the relationship between various directives – the E-Commerce Directive, the Copyright Directive and the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive – will have to be further examined by the Court of Appeals.”
"As a matter of fact the implementing legislation in Belgium at the moment is not entirely clear and I strongly believe the judge did not examine this relationship sufficiently," said Somers.
The E-Commerce and Copyright Directives were framed at around the same time and were not intended to conflict with one another, but technology lawyer Struan Robertson of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, says that a clash was always a possibility.
"The E-Commerce Directive was passed first. It said that intermediaries acting as mere conduits were protected and it prohibited any general obligation to monitor. The Copyright Directive came along next and it said that copyright owners should be able to get court orders against intermediaries if their services are used for piracy," said Robertson.
"The two laws were meant to complement each other but a clash was always possible and it's really always been for a court to decide how exactly we should balance the protection that exists in the E-Commerce Directive and the powers given to copyright owners in the Copyright Directive," he said.
“The Belgian court took the view that there is no clash,” said Robertson. “The court claimed that its injunction does not require Scarlet to ‘monitor’ its network – it tried to distinguish monitoring from filtering; and it also claimed that the mere conduit defence was not lost.”
The court said that the E-commerce Directive “does not affect the judge’s power of injunction and does not limit the measures that can be taken by the latter vis-à-vis the provider”. It said that the mere conduit defence was irrelevant to the case.
It also said that the technical solutions “are limited to blocking or filtering certain information transmitted on the Scarlet network; they do not constitute a general obligation to monitor the network”. It compared blocking software to anti-virus and anti-spam software, describing it as “a simple technical instrument which as such does not perform any activities involving the identification of internet users”.
There are fears that the ruling could affect other ISP businesses in Belgium and could even prompt a re-evaluation of laws elsewhere in Europe. Belgium had not implemented the Copyright Directive into its own laws at the time of the case, so the court focused on the wording of the Directives, which makes the case more significant for other EU countries.
However, one of Belgium's biggest ISPs, Belgacom, rejected the suggestion that the ruling will automatically apply to it.
"The Belgian legal system cannot be compared to legal system in England where you have precedents," said Belgacom spokesman Jean Margot. "It doesn't work that way here; every case has to come up with a different result, a judge could make a different result from another judge in a new case, it is not always the same."
"Probably the next judge will not follow the first judge, there are good arguments, we will have to wait and see," said Margot.
The authors' rights group which brought the court action, SABAM, has already written to Belgium's main ISPs asking them to fall into line with the Scarlet judgment.
"A couple of days ago we addressed the main Belgian access providers to draw their attention to the legal decision that has been made in the case," said Thierry Dachelet, spokesman for SABAM. "Before starting any legal proceedings to impose this decision on all other Belgian access providers on pain of penalty we wished to check whether they are ready to make an agreement or not."

Os 10 grandes desenvolvimentos no e-commerce da última década

Top 10 e-commerce developments of the decade
OUT-LAW News, 13/07/2007

Google has topped a list of the 10 most significant e-commerce developments of the past 10 years, as chosen by staff of the Software & Information Industry Association, a trade association for the software and digital information industry.
Ken Wasch, President of SIIA, said: "It’s no surprise to see Google rank as the most important e-commerce development in the last 10 years. But the list also includes several e-commerce tools that have become so commonplace, we almost forget they didn’t exist 10 years ago."

SIIA’s Top 10
1. Google (September 1998): Google did more to fundamentally change the way we use the internet than any other event in the last 10 years. Americans conducted 6.9 billion searches online in February 2007 and nearly half of those were on Google.
2. Broadband penetration of US internet users reaches 50% (June 2004): It took broadband roughly four years to reach 50% – but it is estimated that it will reach 90% penetration of internet users by the end of 2007.
3. eBay Auctions (launched September 1997): The launch empowered hundreds of thousands of power sellers to quit their day jobs and work exclusively online. Individuals could also compete directly with each other in ways unimaginable in a physical market.
4. Amazon.com (IPO May 1997): Amazon showed the world what an online store would look like and made online shopping popular through its ease of use and wide selection. Amazon’s public offering told the world that online commerce is legitimate and here to stay.
5. Google AdWords (2000): Keyword advertising has become the biggest online advertising vehicle, representing 40% of that market and $6.8 billion in revenue.
6. Open standards (HTML 4.0 released 1997): The standards for the web embodied in HTML are overseen by the World Wide Web Consortium, which is not controlled by any company or government. The formats are open, well documented and designed to work with different software and hardware. It has probably been the most influential and important data standard in the history of publishing.
7. Wi-Fi (802.11 launched 1997): The development of Wi-Fi removed the limitations of desktops and cables and shifted focus toward mobile solutions.
8. User-generated content (YouTube launched 2005): At first a playground for kids with video cameras, YouTube is now the embodiment of Web 2.0.
9. iTunes (2001): In the aftermath of Napster and the P2P battles, iTunes legitimised the digital music industry, revolutionising the music industry. The importance of CDs declined while music as digital content grew, leading to developments in everything from Digital Rights Management software to increased bandwidth use. Today, more than US$2 billion worth of music was sold online or through mobile phones in 2006 (trade revenues), almost doubling the market in the last year. Digital sales now account for around 10% of the music market.
10. BlackBerry (1999): The BlackBerry makes communication instantaneous, and mobile. A comprehensive communications device creates a new mobile business culture.

O contentamento da IFPI

A IFPI congratula-se com pouco. No site da IFPI foi colocado um estudo empirico sobre os efeitos da troca de ficheiros para a indústria fonográfica:


The Impact of Digital File Sharing on the Music Industry: An Empirical Analysis

Mas como se sabe existe muitos estudos, inclusivé já alguns colocados neste blog, que apontam para caminhos bem diferentes dos que preconizados para IFPI.

Taxas de imposto sobre os fonogramas em diferentes países


A Apple pode-se tornar em breve a principal plataforma de distribuição, suplantando o retalho tradicional

Apple revenues could out-perform industry's

Apple's revenues could outstrip the world's entire recorded music industry within the next two years as it continues to cash in on the boom in iPod and download music sales.

Fonte: Music Week

Uma derrota dos defensores da repressão preventiva na Alemanha

German Court Denies Label-Driven, ISP Subpoenas

A local court in Germany has recently blocked labels from seeking the identities of suspecting file-traders, the latest setback for majors in the region. According to a report from German publication Heise Online, the Offenberg-based court denied the pursuit of user identities using criminal proceedings, and qualified the user actions as "petty offenses". Furthermore, the court noted that the offenses offered little damage to public welfare.The development is not isolated, and follows similar rulings throughout the region over the past few years. German labels have scored some court victories, and continue to chase suspected infringers, but courts have mostly been unfriendly to the moves. Meanwhile, the German recording industry has been suffering a precipitous downturn for years, thanks to heavy and continued levels of file-sharing.

Fonte: Digital Music News

quinta-feira, 2 de agosto de 2007

o Fundo de Investimento ao cinema e audiovisual

A ler este artigo de opinião:

A grande ilusão de uma indústria cinematográfica em Portugal


No Reino Unido não cedem a pressões...

U.K. won't extend copyright on rockers' old hits

Last Updated: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 2:30 PM ET
CBC Arts

The British government has turned down a request by artists such as Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams to extend copyright on musical performances to more than 50 years.
On Tuesday, the U.K. rejected a plea to extend copyright for music to 70 years, saying the change would also require revamping laws for the rest of Europe.
Artists such as Richard and McCartney are facing the expiry of copyright on their early hits, such as Richard's 1958 song Move It and McCartney's early Beatles hit Please Please Me.
At the same time there is unprecedented demand for their back catalogue through digital downloads.
Some veteran musicians may be facing a situation in which they won't get compensation for use of their enduring hits.
"The U.K. is a world-beating source of great music, so it is frustrating that on the issue of copyright term the government has shown scant respect for British artists and the U.K. recording industry," John Kennedy, head of a group representing the international recording industry, said after the decision.
The parliamentary committee for culture, media and sport said in May it would support an extension, and the idea had also won approval from opposition parties.
U.K. novelists, playwrights and composers have copyright on their own writing for life and 70 years after their deaths.
In the U.S., performers have copyright for 95 years after the release of a recording and in Australia 70 years.
In Canada, songwriters have copyright on their work for 50 years after their deaths, but Canadian bands and singers have protection for 50 years after release of a recording, the same as British performers.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2007/07/24/copyright-uk.html

iPhone e os hypes...

Who Is Buying The IPhone?


Despite all the iPhone hype, newly released Q2 data from the Strategy Analytics ProductTRAX program indicates that only 250,000 iPhone units were sold to US consumers through the combined AT&T and Apple outlets during the last 2 days of Q2, many fewer than popularly predicted. Additionally, only 146,000 iPhone consumers chose to--or were able to--activate those devices upon purchase."Though commanding significant attention during its launch, the iPhone will see its greatest impact on market share in subsequent quarters," according to Barry Gilbert, Vice President. Mr. Gilbert adds, "To make the top ten list of mobile phones sold, the iPhone will have to move approximately 600,000 units in Q3."Currently, the top selling handset in the US is Motorola's RAZR V3m, which sold nearly 1.4 million units in Q2, down from approximately 2.2 million units in Q1 according to ProductTRAX findings. ProductTRAX research notes that the top 10 handset models account for approximately 25% of total sales in a typical quarter.David Kerr, VP of the Strategy Analytics Global Wireless Practice, notes, "It comes as no surprise that early profiles of iPhone buyers indicate males ages 20-29, with income over $100,000. The key questions will be to assess the average revenue per user (ARPU) generated by these purchasers, and to quantify the impact on churn of Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and SprintNextel from those purchasing iPhones. Strategy Analytics ProductTRAX captures these key metrics for iPhone buyers and buyers of the leading models in the US."
http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=102143

Pergunta-se como perante tanta arrogância na cobrança exigem depois compreensão...

Pergunta-se o que é que os profissionais das artes e do espectáculo têm de diferente na sua actividade económica da dos autores?!

Em causa cobrança por inteiro do IRS a todos os rendimentos

Deputados vão analisar pretensões fiscais da Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores

16.11.2004 - 14h52 Lusa

Os deputados da Comissão Parlamentar de Educação, Ciência e Cultura comprometeram-se a analisar as pretensões hoje expostas pela Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores (SPA) relativamente aos benefícios fiscais aos autores.
Pedro Osório e José Jorge Letria, da direcção da SPA, explicaram à comissão parlamentar as "razões específicas" do estatuto do autor, sublinhando que este pode ter de gerir grandes rendimentos num ano e estar outros anos sem qualquer rendimento.Em causa está a proposta do Orçamento de Estado para 2005, que no artigo 56º do Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais prevê a cobrança por inteiro do IRS a todos os rendimentos de autores, a partir de 54 mil euros.Esta medida contraria o decretado em 1989 pelo Governo de Cavaco Silva que beneficiava os autores permitindo que o IRS apenas incidisse sobre 50 por cento dos seus rendimentos.A deputada socialista Manuela Melo afirmou que o grupo parlamentar do PS vai ter em consideração a "questão da sazonalidade dos autores". "Consideramos essencial a defesa dos direitos de autores", frisou Manuela Melo, adiantando que "o PS irá fazer pressão pelo menos para que esta questão da redução dos benefícios fiscais não venha a alterar a situação já existente".Por seu turno, o deputado do PSD Pedro Alves disse compreender as razões da SPA, mas advertiu que "o país atravessa um momento de crise". "O Governo tomou esta posição devido ao estado em que o país se encontra e não por menosprezo das comunidades cultural e intelectual", salientou. "Seria, todavia, importante apresentar outras soluções para ajudar os autores", acrescentou.O deputado do CDS-PP João Abrunhosa reiterou a posição de Pedro Alves acrescentando que o "benefício fiscal não é a única maneira de incentivar os criadores".Em declarações à Lusa, Pedro Osório disse que o benefício fiscal "é uma das raras medidas de enquadramento dos autores, visando estimular e incentivar a criação artística, como diz o decreto". Segundo o maestro, "são raros os autores que alcançam tais níveis de rendimento, até porque os rendimentos são variáveis". "Um autor depende directamente do que vende e num ano pode alcançar um elevado rendimento, porque editou o seu livro ou saiu um disco de sucesso, mas há anos e anos em que esse rendimento é magro, logo tem de saber gerir quando ganha substancialmente", argumentou.Na opinião do membro da actual direcção da SPA "reduzir o benefício fiscal, constante do Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais, é retirar um dos poucos benefícios que os autores tinham, revelando-se uma medida injusta e errada".O Orçamento de Estado de 2005 começa a ser debatido na especialidade a partir de amanhã no arlamento.

http://ultimahora.publico.clix.pt/noticia.aspx?id=1208542&idCanal=14

quarta-feira, 1 de agosto de 2007

Informações relevantes que vêm na newsleter da Obercom esta semana

Estudo da IMMAA sobre o futuro dos media em questionário
A International Media Management Academic Association (IMMAA) está a desenvolver um estudo que tem por base um questionário sobre as tendências emergentes da indústria da comunicação nos próximos cinco anos.
O objectivo da IMMAA é recolher informação a nível mundial, de forma a perspectivar o futuro dos media. Os dados resultantes da aplicação do inquérito deverão conduzir a conclusões sobre os próximos passos da indústria da comunicação. Pretende-se obter respostas de investigadores, consultores, consumidores, gestores, estudantes e jornalistas, sendo garantida a confidencialidade de todos os dados.
O inquérito tem como mentores os docentes Uwe Eisenbeis e Chris Scholz e está a ser divulgado em diversos países, nomeadamente China, Índia, Noruega, África do Sul, Espanha e Estados Unidos da América.
O questionário está disponível na página da IMMAA em: http://www.immaa.org/questionnaire


T-Mobile lança serviço de downloads de músicas


O T-Mobile acaba de lançar um serviço de downloads de músicas, oferecendo 500.000 faixas por £1, ou €1,48 cada.
A Jukebox Móvel deve funcionar com 32 dos modelos de telefone mais comuns, com músicas da Universal, Sony BMG, EMI e Warner, assim como de empresas independentes.
Os downloads incluem automaticamente dois formatos, um em AAC e outro Windows Media, sendo feita uma cópia pela loja T-Mobile's My Music (http://www.music.t-zones.co.uk/) para que os utilizadores não percam as músicas se perderam o seu dispositivo. O serviço é para os clientes do T-Mobile, com o custo de cada download adicionado à sua conta.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/

E já está... Capial financeiro consegue os seus objectivos

EMI shareholders back Terra Firma deal

Terra Firma has won shareholder approval for its takeover of EMI, having today received acceptance from 90.27% of EMI shareholders, giving it the green light to purchase the major.The company had a deadline of 1pm today to win at least 90% backing for the deal, having last Sunday secured a further extension from the UK Takeover Panel after falling short of reaching the target. This had been the fifth time the deadline had been extended after the deal was announced on May 21.
By last Sunday Terra Firma's acquisition vehicle Maltby had secured approval for the 265p-per-share deal in respect of 688,961,516 EMI shares, representing approximately 84.94% of the existing share capital.
Terra Firma has yet to unveil details of its plans for EMI or indicate what its takeover means for the future of EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli.

E a luta pelo poder.. económico continua..

HMV Sells Japanese Biz

Music and entertainment retail giant HMV Group has agreed to sell its 62-store HMV Japan business to DSM Investments catorce Co. Ltd for ¥17 billion (£70 million) in cash.

Sony/ATV Closes Famous Deal

The Sony/ATV Music Publishing deal acquiring Viacom's Famous Music is now final.


House Subcommittee Considers Performers' Right

Folksinger Judy Collins and R&B legend Sam Moore were among the witnesses yesterday as a House Judiciary Subcommittee held the first hearing examining whether terrestrial radio broadcasters should begin paying royalties to performers and record companies.


Apple Sued Over Eminem Downloads

Eminem's music publisher has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Apple Inc., accusing the California company of violating copyrights.