Music Ally

Things are looking up for EMI, at least according to an email sent out to staff by chairman Guy Hands, which hails a positive Q1 for the company - generating positive ebitda of £59.2 million compared to a loss of £45.1 million in the same quarter last year. (more…)

The IFPI has published its latest set of data on recorded music sales in 2007, including performance rights revenues as part of the total figure for the first time. Strip those out, and you’e left with recorded music sales of $18.8 billion in 2007, down 4% from 2006. Digital revenues increased by 39% during the year. South Korea was the best market for digital in terms of percentages  61% of recorded music sales there were digital. It was followed by the US (24%), India (17%), Japan (16%) and Canada (11%). None of the other top 20 music markets had double-digit percentages of digital revenue.

Vivendi Universal has announced its first-quarter financials, including those for its Universal Music Group subsidiary. UMG saw revenues increase by 0.6% year-on-year to ?1.03 billion ($1.6 billion), while UMG?s EBITA of ?111 million was 94.7% up too  due to higher recorded music margins, a 33% increase in digital sales, and the inclusion of BMG Music Publishing and Sanctuary in the results. (more…)