Ultimate Chart (a/o May 20th):
Looks like the rumors were completely true: The Orchard is acquiring IRIS Distribution. Insiders first leaked the deal to Digital Music News in April; Billboard has its hands on emails sent to IRIS member labels, and our sources are pointing to finalized paperwork and stock transfers. Meanwhile, IRIS founder Bryn Boughton has ditched her @irisdistribution.com email, though no word on where she'll fit into the new org (if anywhere). Meanwhile, the industry is watching a once-hopeful indie distribution space implode, right into major label hands (Sony Music Entertainment owns a big chunk of the heavily-consolidated Orchard.)
Samsung has just acquired cloud-friendly mobile content play mSpot. The acquisition will help Samsung better cloud-enable its range of music, video and radio services across various devices, and mSpot will remain a wholly-owned subsidiary based in Palo Alto.
Soundcloud is now showcasing a slick new interface, and aggressive user-growth. Founder Alexander Ljung says users are growing at a rate of 1.5 million per month, with the total now hitting 15 million.
Concert attendance continued to edge downward at Live Nation during the first quarter. During the three-month window, concert ticket sales reached 16.7 million, down from 17 million the year earlier. Revenues managed to notch upward, thanks partly to ancillary sales and non-music events, though net losses widened considerably to $70 million.
RCA Records is now bumping Adrian Moreira to SVP of Promotions. Moreira was previously SVP of Adult Music.
Dethroned Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom will be the focus of an upcoming documentary, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Donovan Leitch and Alex Mardikian are spearheading the project, with Marc Levin one director possibility.
But wait, there's more! Looks like journalist Neil Strauss may also be penning a Dotcom biography... more on that later.
HADOPI could become a toasted baguette in France, thanks to a post-Sarkozy plan just being put together. The incoming Francois Holland seems cool on the idea, though warm on socialist-style compensation for French artists. HADOPI actually refers to the enforcement arm that administers threatening letters, 'strikes,' and disconnections.
It'll probably be a dry and profitless affair, though Pandora is scheduling its next quarterly review for May 23rd, after the bell. Specifically, this is Pandora's fiscal first quarter for 2013.
Steve Thursday, May 10, 2012
The indie distribution market isnt imploding. In terms of numbers IRIS is actually very small.
If you want indie distribution that is never going to sell out then check out http://routenote.com
paul Thursday, May 10, 2012
Always one to reconsider, though 'imploding' means collapsing in on itself, and the opposite of 'exploding'. Also, it does not mean 'disappearing,' so I think it is apt. We've witnessed remarkable consolidation and shrinking of so-called 'indie distribution' pipes into fewer and fewer hands over a very short period, with large ownership chunks being grabbed by the majors.
/pr
Visitor Thursday, May 10, 2012
If Iris is small, Route Note simply doesn't exist and won't sell out, cause there's nothing to sell
Mitchell Koulouris Thursday, May 10, 2012
Not surprising Bryn is not part of the go forward plan. That's the way these things go. IMHO Iris marginalized themselves into an also-ran in the indie digital distribution space. So as the market matured and consolidation occurred, Iris was left as the odd man out. No one could be surprised by this. I'm wondering what real value there was in Iris. They waited WAY too long to make an exit and that ultimately hurt their value. My hunch it was a "take it or get squashed" offer.
Mitchell Koulouris
Founder and former CEO, Digital Music Group
Mitchell Koulouris Thursday, May 10, 2012
Not surprising Bryn is not part of the go forward plan. That's the way these things go. IMHO Iris marginalized themselves into an also-ran in the indie digital distribution space. So as the market matured and consolidation occurred, Iris was left as the odd man out. No one could be surprised by this. I'm wondering what real value there was in Iris. They waited WAY too long to make an exit and that ultimately hurt their value. My hunch it was a "take it or get squashed" offer.
Mitchell Koulouris
Founder and former CEO, Digital Music Group
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