BigChampagne's Ultimate Chart (a/o February 10th):
1. “What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger),” Kelly Clarkson
2. “Set Fire to the Rain,” Adele
3. “Turn Me On,” David Guetta
4. “Rack City,” TYGA
5. “Good Feeling,” Flo Rida
6. “Smooth Criminal (Glee Cast Version),” Glee Cast
7. “Young, Wild & Free,” Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa
8. “Domino ,” Jessie J
9. “Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO
10. “Ass Back Home ,” Gym Class Heroes
It's been a rough decade. Digital Music News dove into the archives for the ten most disastrous deals of the past ten years....
(1) Terra Firma's acquisition of EMI, $4.7 billion (2007)
Even Guy Hands admits he made a colossal mistake on this one. One of the last super-leveraged buyouts before the bust, EMI has now become a $4.7 billion-plus toxic mess for Terra Firma.
(2) CBS' acquisition of Last.fm, $280 million (2007)
Scrobbling is cool and all - and this is still a very cool site - but few would "recommend" this deal today. Amidst predictable ad monetization challenges, the company has since switched to pay-only in certain European countries, outsourced full-length videos, and bid adieu to the original founders.
(3) Bertelsmann's investments in Napster, $100 million (2000-onward)
In retrospect, Bertelsmann was the forward-thinking maverick. But in the moment, that stance created a legal sinkhole for the company, accused of facilitating widespread infringement by keeping the P2P alive. The in-fighting lasted years before expensive settlements torpedoed Bertelsmann with hundreds of millions in losses.
(4) MP3.com acquisition by Vivendi, $372 million (2001)
Before MySpace was even conceptualized, MP3.com was setting huge records for IPO valuations, label lawsuits, and band profiles. Problems quickly followed the inflated purchase, and the site was quickly dumped by Vivendi Universal in 2003.
(5) The Robbie Williams 360-Degree Deal, $160 million (2002)
Williams loves being able to walk the streets of Los Angeles without being recognized. EMI, which structured the pricey deal, is somehow less thrilled by that freedom.
(6) The Sony BMG Joint Venture (2004)
The 50-50 JV was like "tying two sinking rocks together," according to one executive, and this seemed like a dead weight from the beginning. Bertelsmann walked away, and the combination was ultimately purchased by partner Sony Music Entertainment by 2008.
(7) WMG's Investment in Imeem (2009)
"We do not intend to make more digital venture capital investments," WMG chairman Edgar Bronfman told investors after suffering a $16 million write-off on Imeem in 2009. MySpace subsequently scooped the property for well under $1 million.
(8) WMG's Purchase of Bulldog Entertainment, $16 million (2007)
Bulldog Entertainment Group was best known for coordinating tony concerts in the Hamptons. The company eventually cratered with estimated losses of $30 million.
(9) Any Deal Involving PlaysforSure...
This was a mistake that caused endless suffering, for music service (Yahoo Music, MTV Urge, Wal-Mart), player (Sony, SanDisk, Samsung), and consumer alike. In fact, even Microsoft bailed on its DRM-heavy solution with the launch of Zune.
(10) Best Buy's Exclusive on Chinese Democracy...
Some comebacks are better than others, and Best Buy was left carrying a truckload of Guns N' Roses CDs. That did little to kill the big box exclusive, however, as plenty of big-name artists have used the concept to shift serious tonnage.
Comments Closed
catullusrl Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Robbie Williams deal needs to be removed from the list. It wasn't for eighty million and has been profitable for both parties.
MisterSoftee Wednesday, August 18, 2010
except... I live in the US and no one here even knows Robbie Williams!? wasn't that the point of that entire deal?
Crunch! Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Who cares? Made money, should not be on list. They could've spent crazy $$ to make him huge in the States - then it would probably belong here. Otherwise, poor journalism.
MisterSoftee Wednesday, August 18, 2010
well, one of the major objectives was to make him a global superstar. which was a #FAIL. and not questioning your assertions on money, but I've never seen the financial breakdowns suggesting it was a big financial success.
Crunch! Thursday, August 19, 2010
"Did It Make Robbie Williams A Global Superstar?" is the number one show on the Who Gives A Shit Channel and has nothing to do with the success of the deal or artist, who, let's face it, just wasn't going to happen here - ever.
And how can you say you don't know about the financials, but you can vouch for the intent behind the deal? Don't you think the company in a press release might not actually be the truth? And can you really feel confident that the deal intent was not 1) Both Sides Make A Shitload of Money 2) ...There Is No Number 2?
Josh Thursday, August 19, 2010
Financial statements are a lot harder to come by than boasts made at the time of the deal. Esp. accurate financials.
Jonh Ingham Monday, August 23, 2010
The financial records are public information filed at Companies House in London. In the first six months after the deal Williams grossed £75million. That's almost the cost of the whole deal, with years to run that included massive gigs at Knebworth, Slane Castle and Milton Keynes, quite a few private parties at over £1million an appearance, massive stadium tours in Germany (his biggest market) and a few million album sales.
I don't even pay attention and saw all this in the press. As the guy said, "sloppy journalism".
Ignacio Monday, August 23, 2010
Interesting debate on RW. I think clearly he never crossed into the US with success, but JOhn I'd love to see those financials can you post?
DontJump Monday, August 23, 2010
whoa! How can you guys say that Robbie deal was a success! US was the big brass ring on that one! Love you Brits - hate America until we roll up with a dump truck of cash.
MisterSoftee Thursday, August 19, 2010
Crunch!
I think it's widely known that a major intent was to bring Williams to the US. I think the rest is revisionist, but granted I should probably research this and get some quotes and such to really solidify the argument.
tomtomclubb Wednesday, August 25, 2010
It's no wonder Robbie Williams can't crack the States..have you seen his awkward performance in the recent film 'De-Lovely'? He looks like Sean Hannity singing Cole Porter.
Carlos Thursday, August 19, 2010
Softee,
Regarding your comment that no one in the US knows who Robbie is, you should know that 95% of the people in the world live in countries other than the US, so that he is not known in this country is not a big deal for anyone.
MisterSoftee Thursday, August 19, 2010
Carlos, I beg to differ. The US is the largest recorded music market, and it was a major goal for EMI to popularize Robbie Williams in this market. I will not speak for anything other than the music industry - this is not about politics or anything else - just that the US is the big show and critical to any artist wanting to achieve total global success.
@GregSax (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE...er...WISDOM!?!
@ownimusic (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Les 10 pires deals de l'industrie musicale
@squirelo (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Les 10 pires deals de l'industrie musicale
@matt_grimes (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
entertaining reading
@jherskowitz (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
@ironmanrecords (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
entertaining reading
@ownimusic (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Les 10 pires deals de l'industrie musicale
@squirelo (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Les 10 pires deals de l'industrie musicale
acumiami Wednesday, August 18, 2010
What about AOL-Time Warner merger? another disaster.
Ex-AOLer Wednesday, August 18, 2010
It says "music industry" right up there in the headline - if we opened this up to colossal blunders by all the parent companies this list would take months to read...
@palco07 (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Os 10 acordos mais desastrosos da indústria musical
sford Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Where's JUMP START? universal seems to have been doing everything in it's POWER to screw up the music business....
As I read the rest of todays articles - they seem to be involved in almost everything...money grabbing power hungry control freaks.
GrayPowell Wednesday, August 18, 2010
uh, jump start?
@jonaswoost (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Was @lastfm/CBS really one of the "Most Disastrous Music Industry Deals"?
@AndyHermannMMX (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
One glaring ommission: Live Nation/Ticketmaster.
neilhariswork Wednesday, August 18, 2010
what about BMGs Jive acquisition?
Ribbit Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Where's Spiral Frog?
@samhowardspink (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Classics all. Never forget most music execs are doofi.
Detroit _Dude Wednesday, August 18, 2010
How about when Berry Gordy sold Motown Records for a cheap $61 million dollars ?!
@stefangoldby (via Twitter) Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Adventures in Misadventure: Lest we forget the 10 most disastrous music industry deals of the decade
1000songs Thursday, August 19, 2010
Two words - LIVE NATION
cahnman Thursday, August 19, 2010
The most significant point of the Robbie Williams deal is that soon after, major labels got the idea that if they could acquire Robbie Williams' 360 rights for $16 million, perhaps they could insist on acquiring 360 right to new artists for $16 thousand.
comehomenow Thursday, August 19, 2010
Where's Ticketmaster/Livenation merger? Apple buying Lala?
@Aqua174 (via Twitter) Thursday, August 19, 2010
where's Shyne robbing Def Jam?
Sam Phillips Thursday, August 19, 2010
This reminds me I never should have sold Elvis to RCA
@stevemayhem (via Twitter) Thursday, August 19, 2010
hahahaha
@DannyEstrada (via Twitter) Sunday, August 22, 2010
RT @steverifkind: RT @irvingazoff: This is hilarious! thanks bob for the shortcut tip.
@jldelapena (via Twitter) Sunday, August 22, 2010
Los 10 negocios + desastrosos de la industria musical. Habría que hacer otra lista con los latinos, alguien se atreve?
@irvingazoff Monday, August 23, 2010
This is hilarious! thanks bob for the shortcut tip.
@alexbuckland (via Twitter) Monday, August 23, 2010
I love number 5 on this... I wonder if EMI will ever recoup this solely from the UK market?!
@jenniferthorpe (via Twitter) Monday, August 23, 2010
@LOOPDELOO2 (via Twitter) Monday, August 23, 2010
It's called Karma, and this is how it works: What goes around, comes around. @jaredleto God has your back! #fb
@Matrax1 (via Twitter) Monday, August 23, 2010
lol
whiwo Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Lest we forget the Virgin/Mariah deal worth an estimated $100 million. The Glitter faded after one album and they bought out the rest of her contract. Sounds like a great deal to me, if you're Mariah.
@SwiftTechnique (via Twitter) Thursday, August 26, 2010
@CRASHarts (via Twitter) Friday, August 27, 2010
Not sure these are all accurate... I witnessed the SonyBMG merger first hand!
GrayPowell Friday, August 27, 2010
...and so? what were you witnessing up close? a great deal none of us could see?
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