Search Results for: plan b entertainment

Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. reported a 98 percent decline in profit for the April-June quarter as sales faltered in key businesses such as electronics, video games, movies and music. Sony said Thursday it earned 1.1 billion yen ($9 million) in the first quarter of its fiscal year, down from 57.2 billion yen for the same period last year. Sales for the Tokyo-based company fell 6.9 percent to 1.6 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) from 1.7 trillion yen. Sony set off a plunge in Tokyo share prices in April after it reported a loss in the final quarter of… Read more »

When the record industry announced in June that it would begin filing individual lawsuits against hundreds of illegal file-swappers, it was not just a bad PR move, it was a signal that the music business is more desperate than ever. Halfway through 2003, sales continue to slump, down eight percent from the first six months of last year. Three of the ten best-selling albums so far this year were actually released in 2002, and only three artists – 50 Cent, Norah Jones and Linkin Park – managed to sell more than 2 million copies between January and June. 50 Cent,… Read more »

The former music exec, who stepped down as head honcho at Sony Music in January, has teamed up with Universal Music Group to head up a modern-day version of a retro record label. The mastermind behind the careers of Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez will run Casablanca Records, a label founded by Neil Bogart that had its heyday in 1970s with acts like KISS, Donna Summer and the Village People. According to UMG execs, a five-year contract was inked Monday (reportedly to the tune of $50 million), and Mottola is ready to start producing for the New York-based… Read more »

What’s that old saying – behind every great man there is an even greater woman? Well, that certainly seems to be the case with legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his manager/wife Sharon. Despite her aging husband’s drug addiction, hip problems and overall incoherence, Sharon Osbourne has kept the Ozzman’s feet firmly planted in the heart of the entertainment world. Aside from managing his hectic touring schedule, Sharon also finagled a reality-TV deal with MTV, allowing cameras to capture all the cursing, craziness, and, well, more cursing that fills the Osbourne home on a daily basis. Of course, the season is… Read more »

The embattled music industry disclosed plans Wednesday for an unprecedented escalation in its fight against Internet piracy, threatening to sue hundreds of individual computer users who illegally share music files online. The Recording Industry Association of America, citing significant sales declines, said it will begin Thursday to search Internet file-sharing networks to identify music fans who offer “substantial” collections of MP3 song files for downloading. It expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within eight to 10 weeks. Executives for the RIAA, the Washington-based lobbying group that represents major labels, would not say how many songs… Read more »

Efforts by the music sector to curtail online piracy and develop digital music services like Apple’s iTunes are the first glimmers of hope for the battered industry, the head of Sony Corp.’s U.S. operations said Wednesday. U.S. Chief Executive and Chairman Howard Stringer said at a media breakfast that the April launch of Apple Computer Inc.’s online music service, iTunes, which lets music fans download some songs from all five major record labels for less than a $1 each, was a “sea change” and a “wake-up call.” “Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) has liberated us,” Stringer told media executives and journalists… Read more »

In late April, Madonna gave a rare in-store concert before 400 fans to plug her new American Life album. Outside the event, which took place at Tower Records in New York’s Greenwich Village, another 2,000-plus fans thronged. For years, Tower has harnessed such star power to burnish its credentials as a purveyor of hipness. “It was the buzz around town,” boasts store manager David Montes of the Madonna love-in. But the splashy appearance obscured a harsh backstage truth: Tower Records is in such deep trouble that its parent, privately held MTS Inc. in West Sacramento, has put the company on… Read more »

After a night of partying, the only thing worse than a hangover is a pounding case of regret to keep it company. Unfortunately Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley has woken up to the insufferable couple more times than he’d care to recall. While a headache and peaked feeling usually vanish with some aspirin and rest, embarrassment lasts a lot longer. And it’s that “what the hell was I thinking?” feeling that inspired Sum 41’s next single, “Over My Head (Better Off Dead).” “It’s [about] regretting something you said, usually the night before,” Whibley said. “Like, a lot of times, I… Read more »

Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. said Monday it has shed its troubled Musicland Group, turning it over to Sun Capital Partners, a Florida-based private investment company. Best Buy shares rose. Sun Capital Partners paid no cash but assumed all of Musicland’s liabilities including its lease obligations. Musicland operates around 1,100 Media Play, Sam Goody and Suncoast stores across the country. Best Buy said in March that it planned to sell the group. Richfield-based Best Buy paid nearly $700 million for Minnetonka-based Musicland two years ago, but the group failed to meet Best Buy’s expectations, especially in consumer electronics sales. When… Read more »

The competition for online music customers is heating up. RealNetworks launched RealOne Rhapsody on Friday and simultaneously dropped the price of burning from 99 cents to 79 cents per track. Subscribers to the existing RealOne SuperPass entertainment service already have been receiving Rhapsody’s Internet radio product. These 900,000 customers will gradually be migrated over to the complete replacement service, which includes the customizable professionally programmed and custom radio stations along with on-demand streaming, extensive music information and editorial comment, features and recommendations. Real Networks vp marketing Dan Sheeran said new customers will see only RealOne Rhapsody to minimize confusion. RealOne… Read more »