| Madonna’s Maverick Records Sues Long Time Partner - Warner Music |
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| Home Theater News Industry-Trade News | |
| Written by Jerry Del Colliano | |
| Friday, 26 March 2004 | |
 Various
internet and television news sources report that Maverick Records has
filed a suit against its long time partner, Warner Music to end their
12 year relationship. Maverick Records is lead by Madonna and run by
young, successful executives like Guy Oseary who have been able to beat
recent industry negative sales trends by signing highly successful acts
like Alanis Morissette, Prodigy, Deftones and others in the 1990s.
Warner Music Group was recently purchased by an investment team lead by Edgar Bronfman Jr. and losing Madonna and her team would certainly be a blow to the major label. Warner spokespeople were quoted saying the suit was “without merit”. For more than a decade, record labels have been behaving like big, consolidated business with mergers, acquisitions and lower sales meaning seemingly lower profits. Madonna, if allowed to part with WEA, could possibly starting a trend back towards an entrepreneurial sprit in the music business from its glory days lead by players like Clive Davis, David Geffen, Berry Gordy, Ahmet Ertegun and so many others. Before the end of the classic rock period (1967 to 1993) record executives used to sign bands that could really play and sold records at prices that consumers felt was fair. With four major labels still pushing a 20 year old CD as their main product to sell to customers instead of higher resolution and higher value DVD-Audio or SACD discs – the problems the music business face now are very steep. It is likely that more nimble and entrepreneurial record labels will be able to shed many of the problems that plague the majors. Some of these include one-sided record contracts that don’t include provisions for downloadable or high-resolution music releases. But the most important thing entrepreneurial record labels can do is to sign bands that can play. Distributing music is vastly different than 20 years ago. If DJ Danger Mouse can sell 1,000,000 downloads in one day with his “Gray Album” then Madonna and Guy Oseary might very well be able to pull off the same feat and keep all of the profits for themselves. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
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