Warner Music Group Readies Axe, Inspiring Some To Double-Check Whether Sky Is Falling

Warner Music Group will allegedly be shedding 400 jobs soon, news that inspired a “state of the union”-type post on Hypebot. The post, which was helpfully subtitled “Is The End Of The Major Label Near?”, runs down a few potential reasons as to how the big four got into their current mess:

As another 400 industry pros loose there jobs it’s worth remembering that…

* major labels are no longer controlled by people who care about music. They are owned by stockholders who care about profits. * l abels can no longer control what gets played on the radio. Thanks to Eliot Spitzer and the FCC payola isn’t what it use to be. * with the internet offering unlimited media sources radio no longer has the clout that it used to anyway. * free file sharing has forever devalued music. * single songs downloads have killed the album purchase and thus gutted the profits labels saw from them. * digital delivery is eroding the labels’ gatekeeper status in distribution. * consumers have more diverse competition for their entertainment $’s and time than ever before

All good points, although we’d also add that the actions of the labels against those people who may actually buy records has also driven away consumers. As have out-of-touch executives, and wrongheaded attempts to rectify the digital-market surge, and … well, you get the point. Whether or not top brass at labels will as well is still up in the air, but the fact that the layoffs will likely hit the rank-and-file, and not the executive suites, makes us think that there’s a long way to go.

Warner Music Group To Layoff 400. Is The End Of The Major Label Near? [Hypebot]