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HMV Media Group cited the 'exceptional performance' of its London-based HMV Europe division when it announced fiscal first-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of £11.3 million ($16.44 [...]

NEW YORK--The entertainment industry, which moved quickly to lend its voices and muscle to relief efforts, has also been busy assessing its own uncertain financial future in the wake of [...]

Play It Again Sam (PIAS) Group has replaced Edel as European licensee for Festival/Mushroom and the Mushroom/Infectious labels. The deal excludes the U.K. Previously, the Brussels-based group distributed the Mushroom [...]

London-based Sony Music Entertainment Europe (SMEE) is merging its strategic-marketing and artist-marketing divisions. 'Strategic and catalog marketing continue to play critically important roles within our business,' SMEE president Paul Burger [...]

HMV MEDIA GROUP PLC, the U.K. retailer, reports total sales growth of 13.2% during the Christmas trading period. Comparable-store sales were up 8.2% in the five weeks that ended Jan. [...]

SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE and Microsoft Corp. are to collaborate on a European online music-video channel that will feature localized programming highlighting Sony artists. The videos will be streamed in [...]

HMV MEDIA GROUP reported sales of 298 million pounds ($435 million) for the 13 weeks ending July 29, up 11.1% from the same period last year. At constant exchange rates, [...]

LONDON--The Warner/EMI merger, born in Sardinia, Italy, 56 weeks ago during a conference of senior EMI executives, fell to Earth Oct. 5 in London and Brussels, as the companies withdrew [...]

LONDON--EMI Group chairman Eric Nicoli reassured shareholders at the company's annual genera! meeting (AGM) at London's Inter-Continental Hotel July 21 that the group is 'well-placed' to meet full-year growth targets. [...]

LONDON -- A brief statement from Universal Music Group on Sept. 5 hammered the last nail into the coffin of Sanctuary Group's much-vaunted '360-degree' business model, leaving artists and staffers [...]

Having played a critical role in the rise of 1990s U.K. indie powerhouse Creation Records, label executive Dick Green has a new international hit in British rock act Bloc Party. [...]

LONDON--Diesel is getting to know its customers' music tastes. Through a worldwide marketing campaign with Warner Music International (WMI), the Molvena, Italy-based clothing label is encouraging its typically young clientele […]

BRISBANE, Australia -- Australian record labels' legal attempt to increase music license fees has opened a rift with the radio sector. Labels and recording artists' neighboring rights collecting society the [...]

Vanessa Amorosi has lived a fast life. The Australian pop singer signed her first record contract at 14, became a recording artist at 16 and was a million-seller by 18. [...]

Short Stack's mastery of social networking has paid off Down Under. Hailing from Budgewoi in New South Wales, the teenagers bowed at No. 1 on the Aug. 23 Australian Recording [...]

Sarah Blasko's distinctive vocals have established her as one of Australia's premier talents, bur her voice doesn't carry onto Australia's radio airwaves. With the exception of state-funded youth station Triple [...]

The Western Australian five-piece Karnivool's career has been something of a thrill ride of late. The air-rock act found itself flying high on the national Australian Recording Industry Assn. albums [...]

BRISBANE, Australia -- The Phonographic Performance Co. of Australia is muscling in on gyms and fitness clubs Down Under in an attempt to boost revenue through higher music fees. The [...]

Having scored a gold single, Australia's Cassie Davis is ready to unleash her debut album in August. Davis' debut single, 'I Like It Loud,' peaked at No. 11 on the [...]

BRISBANE, Australia -- A new day is dawning Down Under as Sony Music Australasia enters the live music sector. The major's Sydney-based touring and events division Day 1 Entertainment staged [...]

BRISBANE, Australia--A fight over Record Store Day has exposed friction between Australia's small independent stores and larger retail chains, with the Australian Music Retailers Assn. in the firing line. AMRA's [...]

Australian singer Shannon Noll's meteoric rise is taking him into global orbit. Noll has made the transition from reality-TV contestant into credible pop artist, scoring 10 consecutive top 10 hits [...]

George Ash, managing director of Universal Music Australia, has been elected chairman of the board of directors at the rights collecting society Phonographic Performance Co. of Australia. Ash succeeds John [...]

Universal Music Group will market and distribute Disney Music Group recordings in Australia beginning April 1, under a licensing pact the two sides have reached. EMI previously represented the Disney [...]

Sony Music Entertainment Australia has appointed Mardi Caught GM of touring, events and artist management, effective April 14. Caught returns to Sony Music Australia from Sony Music in the United [...]

Independent labels Down Under are celebrating a decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to allow indies to offer joint licenses to broadcasters that air their artists' music videos. [...]

Peter Ikin, 62, a former high-ranking Warner Music International executive who helped build the major label's Australian business, died Nov. 12 in Paris from a suspected heart attack. Ikin retired [...]

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, the blind aboriginal singer and multi-instrumentalist from Australia's Northern Territory, is emerging from the shadow of his former band Yothu Yindi. His critical acclaim hit new levels [...]

POTBELLEEZ Based: Sydney Current release: 'The Potbelleez' (Vicious/ Ministry of Sound/Universal Music Australia) Booking agent: Phat Planet (Australia) Despite not having released an album at that point, Potbelleez took a [...]

EMI Music Publishing U.K. has signed a longtime, worldwide publishing deal to represent pop/reggae singer/songwriter Eddy Grant. The deal covers Grant's new and future works, plus his entire catalog, including [...]

Classical music publisher Boosey & Hawkes has struck a worldwide deal to represent EMI Classics' master recordings for synchronization. Through the new arrangement, Boosey & Hawkes is in a position [...]

The clock is quickly ticking down on a process that could see German media giant Bertelsmann offload its 50% stake in Sony BMG Music Entertainment in the coming months to [...]

LONDON -- The United Kingdom's hottest dance music tour later this year could be the one bearing the brand of 'Clubland'--the bedrock supporting the All Around the World label's empire. [...]

Under the tenacious leadership of Fran Nevrkla, Britain's Phonographic Performance Ltd. seems to be going from a position of strength to one of power. The international performing rights body will [...]

Warner Music International has struck an exclusive licensing agreement with Odessa, Ukraine-based distributor Odyssey that will have the latter import, manufacture and distribute the major's CD and DVD product domestically. [...]

U.K. mobile operator 3 has launched an ad-supported commercial mobile music video service in partnership with Sony BMG for its 3 million-plus British customers. Sony BMG clips will be available [...]

U.K. digital download store 7digital.com has become the first such major European service to offer Warner Music Group repertoire in digital rights management-free MP3 format. A deal struck with London-based [...]

Australian drum'n'bass troupe Pendulum is set to rock international markets in 2008. In late 2007, the Australian group announced its arrival when 'Granite' spent a month on the Official U.K. [...]

Geoff Travis and Martin Mills are two of a kind. For more than 30 years, the veteran U.K. executives have blazed their own trails to the top of the independent [...]

This time last year, Europe's independent labels happily drew David and Goliath comparisons following their court victory in the proposed Sony-BMG merger. But 12 months on, that merger has been [...]

Merlin, the global digital rights body for independent music companies, launched its official Web site Nov. 19. The new service, at merlinnetwork.org, provides indies with a clear statement of Merlin's [...]

Former Warner Music International VP of A&R Ric Salmon has pulled in a pair of industry heavyweights to help guide his new venture Harvest Entertainment, which he says will enable [...]

Universal Music Group has started the integration of V2 Music Group by aligning the newly acquired label's British arm with Mercury Records under the aegis of Mercury U.K. president Jason [...]

British folk artist Kate Walsh became the talk of the town earlier this year--and the world's largest record company was listening in. Brighton, England-based singer/songwriter Walsh enjoyed positive reviews but [...]

Veteran independent record store owner Paul Quirk has been elected chairman of U.K. trade body the Entertainment Retailers Assn. Quirk, who runs Quirks Records in Ormskirk, Lancashire, was voted into [...]

LONDON -- There's a whole Iotta interest in Led Zeppelin's reunion. But for now, just 18,000 lucky ticket-holders will see it. The surviving band members--Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John [...]

EMI Music Publishing will move from its longtime London headquarters on Charing Cross Road to EMI Group's Wrights Lane premises in mid-September. An EMI spokesman says the move was planned [...]

LONDON -- Joy Division's Ian Curtis never lived to see the influence his band's legacy had on a legion of artists, critics and music fans. The enigmatic frontman took his [...]

LONDON--EMI staff and artists face several months of further uncertainty after the music giant's new owner Terra Firma moved to remove CEO Eric Nicoli (billboard.biz, Aug. 29). In an internal [...]

EMI Group expects to delist from the London Stock Exchange Sept. 18 as it prepares for a new era under the ownership of private equity firm Terra Firma. On that [...]