Off the grid

Posting on Höf’s Mixtape will be very slow until early January. I will be traveling to some remote places in Europe and will not always have a good internet connection in order to keep this blog up to date. But going by personal experience, this time of year is usually not very news heavy. 

Let me take this oppurtunity to thank all my readers here on this site. I appreciate you coming to Höf’s Mixtape to get your music industry news fix. Keep coming back, keep reading and drop me a line once in a while. And remember: Good music is better. See you in 2009!

Coldplay’s Satriani PR debacle

This is probably the worst possible way to deal with that situation. It will keep the story in the headlines even longer and won’t let Coldplay and its management look good. 
This is being handled badly. Why? Do they need the money so much that they can’t afford to pay the old guitar wanker his dues? 

“With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations. If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him. Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song Viva La Vida. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours. Coldplay”

Just like Bob Lefsetz said: Watch this clip and make up your mind. This is a no-brainer and Coldplay has lost the battle over public opinion already. 

MySpace Music plans UK launch for early 2009

Even though there haven’t been many success stories recently about MySpace Music the social network is plotting the overseas expansion of its music service. Their sales team is currently wooing premium brands during a media agency roadshow. New Media Age reports that MySpace wants to launch the UK service in early 2009 and is keen on attracting top brands like they did in the U.S. 

MySpace will basically offer its British advertising partners the same tools that we have seen on the plattform so far, which consist of a variety of ad spots including display, a skinned player, pre-roll and in-video ads, and playlist sponsorship opportunities. 

The imminent launch of MySpace Music UK corresponds with the unveiling of Amazon MP3 which started operations in Britain last week. The download store is the exclusive online retail partner for MySpace Music in the U.S. and could very well end up serving the same function accross the pond.

Alliance caught in the downsizing of Source Interlink

I seem to be a little late on this one. But apparently not only the wholesale business in the UK is going down the drain. Here in the U.S. it looks almost as bad. Alliance Entertainment has been laying off people for months now, Billboard reports. Source Interlink, Alliance’s parent company let go “several hundred” emplyees over the last few months. 

The company also closed five of its warehouses, leaving it with five distribution centers. Alliance supplies retailers like Kmart, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Best Buy, Sears, Walgreens, Blockbuster and Meijer with CDs and DVDs. 

The downsizing of Source Interlink saw a merging of the magazine distribution department with Alliance. According to Billboard the restructuring was intended to achieve cost savings to help service the $1.2 billion in debt the parent company carries. Alliance is additionally hurt by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Circuit City. The electronics chain owes Alliance $15.8 million.

British wholesale business EUK may be liquidated before Christmas

It increasingly looks like there will be no rescue for Entertainment UK (EUK), the wholesale operation of bankrupt British retailer Woolworths. Administrator Deloitte is reported to have failed in finding a buyer for the 815-store chain and its corporate wholesale sibling. 

The retail stores are now expected to close within days, despite a last-ditch attempt by Geoff Mulcahy to buy out parts of the company he once ran. It also seems highly unlikely that a buyer for EUK will be found in time. Insiders say a liquidation is just around the corner. 

Here is what UK tabloid The Sun reports: 

One insider told The Sun that Entertainment UK — the wholesale CD and DVD arm of Woolworths — would also be liquidated within days. This will leave up to a dozen of the world’s biggest film and music studios out of pocket. Microsoft is owed around £26 million by EUK, Nintendo an estimated £21million and Paramount £32 million. All EUK’s main customers — Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Zavvi — are already sourcing their music and film products from other wholesalers. The insider said: “It’s almost over.”