EMI in talks to buy Warner Music! (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

This is a very interesting development:

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news...9JK_Q&refer=us

I wonder what this will do to hirez and how they might respond to Universal's price cutting move...

 

[Lee Scoggins]

There is also an interesting news article in the Wall Street Journal on this that talks about Alain Levy's goal of looking beyond the typical sales numbers that the record business normally does and also looking at "profitability" by backing out marketing costs.

This could be a step in the right direction, and EMI has certainly been supporting hirez of late, like the print campaign for DSOTM (they own Capitol).

EMI and Warner would have some IP in DVDA, however and one could envision that EMI would continue to do DVDAs to keep that investment worthwhile and also support SACD.

I'm anxious to see what happens, but at the very least it is indicative of the tough times in music.

 

[Mark Hedges]

I would love it if Warner started supporting SACD. I don't want to start a format war here but I would shed no tears if they used this merger as an excuse to write off DVD-A completely.

Speaking from a software basis I don't see how DVD-A will catch up to SACD. The local Best Buy has sections for DVD-A and SACD, and while the SACD selection isn't the greatest, it is much better than the DVD-A selection (which is even punier if you don't count all the DTS music disks they have in with the DVD-A's).

Mark

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I am not sure how to answer this without starting a format war, but I think it would be easier on all if just one hirez format existed. I think there is a lot of vested interest in DVDA so it might be difficult for that to go away overnight.

You are right about the title selection of Super Audio being better (about 3X more titles) but there is a lot of good stuff on DVDA, particularly for us Steely Dan and Donald Fagen fans.

 

[John Kotches]

Weirdly enough, another huge title on Capitol Records is The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. EMI decided on DVD-A for this title on their own, no Sony $$$ were involved, unlike with DSoTM.

It's a shame this title is overlooked in all the DSoTM hype. This title was a tremendous technical accomplishment when considering the era (1966). It also inspired the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band I listened to this disc 3 or 4 times this weekend and am simply astounded by the craftsmanship.

Sadly, SACD in my "big rig" is out for awhile, as my SACD1000 decided to go a bit nuts and is out for repair.

At this point, it's talks and there's a bit of ground to cover between where we are now, and a completed acquisition.

Regards,

 

[Mark Hedges]

Weirdly enough, another huge title on Capitol Records is The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. EMI decided on DVD-A for this title on their own, no Sony $$$ were involved, unlike with DSoTM.

The only technical reason I can think of is that they wanted to include 3 mixes (mono, stereo & surround). AFAIK, SACD only allows for 2 mixes.

I wonder how much of the current SACD selection is due to Sony throwing money around. I hope that SACD releases don't stop when Sony stops giving out $$$.

Mark

 

[Lee Scoggins]

EMI decided on DVD-A for this title on their own, no Sony $$$ were involved, unlike with DSoTM.

I think you are just speculating here John. You seem to forget that Warners has supported DVDA with big dollar investments on albums as well. Also, there are a lot of Super Audio releases not supported by Sony.

All new products use money to support the initial market. It's standard practice in product development in many industries.

So far, Capitol is buying ads for DSOTM but not Pet Sounds.

 

[Marc Colella]

Mentioned on a post at the AA forum...EMI's senior VP get's interviewed by Medialine:

What's behind your renewed commitment to DVD-Audio?

DVD-Audio, I think, is the most promising format for getting music out in a new and exciting way that makes customers feel like they're getting extra content and access to [the artist]. As an industry, we really haven't shown the value of music over the last two years. So if we can start competing for mindshare [with new formats], I think we have a chance to break some new ground and develop a whole new marketplace.

http://www.medialinenews.com/issues/...er/cover.shtml

 

[Mark Hedges]

So far, Capitol is buying ads for DSOTM but not Pet Sounds.

Actually Capitol has recently ran full page ads for Pet Sounds in Stereophile or Home Theater Magazine (I can't remember which).

Mark

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Actually Capitol has recently ran full page ads for Pet Sounds in Stereophile or Home Theater Magazine (I can't remember which).

I stand corrected. I guess EMI is promoting both formats then, which is fine with me.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

More positive comments from EMI execs on high resolution:

The release went on to quote Mark Collen, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for EMI Recorded Music as saying “We’re very pleased to be able to offer ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ to the millions of Pink Floyd fans for the first time in 5.1 surround sound. It’s perfectly suited to showcase the benefits of high resolution formats like SACD, which can faithfully capture the subtle nuances of the Floyd’s intricate music.”

It seems that EMI supports both formats.