Streamaroo

Proof that big music just does not get the current market; Warner Brothers posted a major loss on their products this quarter. Warner posts a 12 cent per share loss, but they are starting to realize that the download and streaming market is the place to be. Although it would be better if they got away from the idea of DRM, pay per listen, and a whole host of other evils, maybe, just maybe they are getting the picture?

For the third quarter of fiscal 2007, revenue slipped 2% to $804 million from $822 million in the same period last year, or 5% on a constant-currency basis. This decline was driven by a challenging Recorded Music industry environment as the shift in consumption patterns from physical sales to new forms of digital music continues. Declines in our physical Recorded Music revenue were only partially offset by increases in Music Publishing and digital Recorded Music revenue. Domestic revenue was down 1% while international revenue declined 4%, or 9% on a constant-currency basis. Source: WMG News

Digital downloads, digital streaming, and internet radio are the future and present delivery systems. Traditional Radio is a mind numbing sameness across all channels, television is a mass media, if you want to watch something cool, you have to go to a specialty channel or on line. Even Hollywood studios are dumping their stuff on BitTorrent and streaming media sites at this point to generate buzz.

If nothing else, maybe Warner needs to stop drinking Kool-Aid, and really take a look at where the market is, where it is going, and address that shift. Oh, and stop suing the customers, that is always bad form to sue your client base. We think that a big part of the problem is that they are suing folks with wild abandon, and they are starting to loose on that one as well.