Music GroupsFriday Business Links
• Monterey Peninsula Artists and Little Big Man will be integrated into parent company Paradigm Talent Agency, and both names will be retired. The agents expect the change to give them more time to spend developing their artists and use the resources of the larger, combined agency. (Billboard.biz)
• Universal Music Group has purchased Sanctuary Music Group for £44.5 million ($90.7 million) As part of the deal, UMG will take on £59.8 million ($121.8 million) of Sanctuary's debt. The goal is to integrated Sanctuary's other services such as merchandise and artist management. (The Guardian)
• The New York Post reported that Universal Music Group is ready to sell BMG's European publishing assets. As part of a deal with anti-trust regulators, UMG will sell the European rights to Zomba U.S., Zomba U.K., Rondor U.K. and 19 Entertainment. (FMBQ)
• Napster has hired Christopher Allen to be its new Chief Operating Officer. He starts on Monday. Allen was previously Vice President, Product Strategy, Design, and Marketing for Blockbuster Online and replaces outgoing COO Laura Goldberg. (Press release)
• Satellite radio companies' biggest problem is attrition, says Bridge Ratings. "Because XM and Sirius calculate churn differently, official churn rates are difficult to nail down. However, our interviews with current and former satellite radio subscribers coupled with gross and net subscriber figures reveal attrition is growing placing extreme pressure on new subscriber acquisition strategies for both companies." (Radio Ink)
• The average computer has 880 MP3 files. (Digital Music News)
• Sort of a good point from a PC World columnist. On the Verizon deal for AC/DC's catalog: "That’s too bad for the industry. The latest report from UK-based Entertainment Media Research say here in the US music piracy is down. You can thank the ease, price, and flexibility of finding and buying music on iTunes part for that." One or two of these deals, though, does not do anything to hinder the availability and compatibility of digital music. To draw a parallel, exclusives at Best Buy and Circuit City have lead only to bickering between retailers. From what I can tell, consumers have accepted them. (PC World)
• Denton, TX, currently a hot spot for indie rock, has a new record label. Magilum Records aims to capture the ""bizarre folk scene in Denton" and "start a whole new subgenre (of folk)." (Star-Telegram)
• In-Stat analyst Mike Paxton predicts ditching DRM "will likely be viewed as a music-industry-only experiment, albeit one that will be closely monitored to see if a viable business model emerges." (Twice.com)
