More Reasons To Distrust The Music Industry

NEW YORK (Hypebot) — If file sharing is destroying the music industry, then how did Warner Music Group increase its sales in the first quarter 7 per cent to $989 million?

This despite the fact that Warner Music paid its top five operational execs a total of $15,733,611 in 2007.

It doesn’t hurt Warner Music’s bottom line that in 2005, according to the LA Times, they “eliminated 1600 positions, pared wages, slashed investment in new artists, shut offices, and quadrupled employees’ health insurance premiums."

In February, Michael Cohl was elected chairman of the board of Live Nation, the nation’s leading producer of live shows.

As a Toronto concert promoter, Cohl charged a “tax” for ten years to acts who played CNE Stadium even though the levy didn’t exist on provincial books. Cohl pocketed 100 per cent of the money but was never charged with a crime.

He continues to work with some of the acts (Rolling Stones, U2) on whom he pulled the scam.