The Music Industry: Lost in the Shuffle TIME

Link: The Music Industry: Lost in the Shuffle -- Printout -- TIME.

While EMI has had an especially tough time, it is also something of a barometer for the biggest players in the business. Universal Music, the world's largest record company, saw its revenues dip slightly last year. Low margins at Sony BMG, the industry's No. 2, have left its own music business ripe for a private-equity buyout this year, says Gerd Leonhard, a music-industry consultant in Switzerland. And shares at No. 3 Warner Music have been in freefall for months; a $16 million first-quarter loss was announced in February.