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iTunes now owns 25% of the retail music business in the US. While compact disc’s still account for 65% of recorded music sales, 35% of music sales are now exclusively digital. The NPD Group, who conducted the report, noted that sales of digital downloads are up 30% year over year.
MGM CEO Harry Sloan has lost his seat a top of the studio amidst restructuring. Rather than having one CEO, the company announced that the office of Chief Executive Officer will be shared by the chief of the motion picture group Mary Parent, CFO Bedi Singh, and Vice Chairman Stephen Cooper. Sloan, who was not fired and will stay with the company as a “non-executive chairman,” noted that “MGM can now draw from the excellent team we have assembled and attract top talent such as Steve Cooper to help lead the company through its next phase.”
Motorola and Blockbuster announced that they will unveil a new application that will let users download movies directly to cellphones. The deal, which will make “thousands” of titles in the Blockbuster catalog available for mobile download, will be exclusively available on Motorola offerings, including the Google Android based Motorola smartphone, which is expected to launch in a few months. While the deal is progressive, Blockbuster, which has struggled to gain a stronghold on both the digital and mail order markets, may have a tough time competing with Apple, whose iTunes store already has such capabilities for popular handheld devices like the iPhone.
While ad revenue has been own across the board, a report by media analysts SNL Kagan forecasts that local TV ad rev will increase 5.2% in 2010. The SNL Kagan study, which believes that stations will earn roughly $18.5 billion from advertising in 2010, notes that much of the money will come from non-traditional revenue streams, including broadband streams. The report notes that re-transmission fees, along with new media ad rev will help broadcasters increase revenue as money from traditional streams dries up.
Hewlett-Packard profits fell 19% during the second quarter. The company’s principle business of computer and printer sales were down $2.03 billion during the period. While new divisions like EDS, acquired last year, generated income, HP’s powerhouse divisions suffered due to the uncertain economic climate.