Warner Brothers Records Clearly Being Run By A Bunch Of American Idiots

Brian Raftery | February 8, 2007 10:46 am
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Warner Music Group had a terrible 2007 2006*: According to figures posted today, the label consortium posted a 74 percent drop in quarterly net profits from last year. That’s not record-industry bad–that’s almost auto-industry bad:

The world’s fourth-largest music company said profit for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31 fell to $18 million, or 12 cents per share, down from $69 million, or 46 cents per share the year before. Revenue fell 11 percent to $928 million…

Albums by artists including My Chemical Romance and Josh Groban sold worse than hit albums a year earlier by such artists as Madonna, James Blunt, Enya and Green Day.

Also not so hot? Pretty much every other record the labels released last year, including Paris Hilton, Diddy, and the lukewarm Lupe Fiasco. But the story notes that Warner remains “confident” about its 2007, which we’re guessing will include new albums from Green Day, Metallica, Linkin Park, T.I., and–thanks to the newly acquired Roadrunner Records–the inexplicably enduring Nickelback. Of course, most of those artists have been go-to sales-boosters for years now; when it comes to young, still-developing talent, Warners’ reserves are looking mighty dry–though maybe these gals will surprise us all and come up with a tween-targeted equivalent of Physical Graffiti.

Warner Music Quarterly Profit Drops [Reuters] * Oops! We’re still dating our checks “2009”!