Seems that Warner didn’t do too well money-wise this fiscal year. According to an article at Mashable!, it seems they did $5 million in profit out of $869 million in revenue. Seems they’re finally feeling the pinch from going to war against their consumers. As quoted in the article:

The RIAA and the lesser known but similar IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) receive funding primarily from EMI, Warner, Sony BMG and Universal. Estimates put the combined funding at an approximate $132.48 million a year. Sony and Universal haven’t been recently vocal about their feelings on the RIAA, but Time Warner CEO Egar Bronfman recently confessed that ‘We were wrong to go to war with consumers.’

The article at Mashable goes on to compare these profits to Radiohead’s recent “pay if you want to” bit with their latest album, saying:

That’s right, even by the most critical of earnings estimates, Radiohead made between half as much to as high as twice as much as the entire Warner label made in profit this year.

When you can make more money giving music away, do you think that perhaps it is time for a new strategy, Bronfman?

(Via PaidContent by way of Mashable!)

The US House of Representatives has gone a step further in helping the helpless RIAA and MPAA in defending themselves from the monstrous and looming threat of college students with P2P clients. For a while there, I was worried that mom and pop entertainment companies would no longer be able to afford the salaries of those that produce the entertainment for us consumers, but lucky for us Congress is on the job.

In the House Education and Labor Committee’s comprehensive College Opportunity and Affordability Act, there is a small section dictating that any university in receipt of federal funding shall act as an enforcement agents for the stoppage of unlawful downloading. The committee unanimously approved the bill today.

This comes hot on the heels of Warner head’s apology for going to war with its customers, but perhaps he forgot to remind his lobbyists that his customers include kids in college. No matter, though; defunding American higher education is a small price to pay to ensure we remain entertained.

[via ZDnet — courtesy of Mashable]