Sony, BMG to Lay Off 2,000 Staffers -Sources

[UpInArms]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=musicNews&storyID=5699352

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - About 2,000 staffers worldwide will be let go as a result of the upcoming merger between recording industry giants Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), sources said.

The combined company is expected to reap cost savings of $300 million-$360 million a year, according to industry insiders.

The European Union's antitrust division is expected to announce approval of the merger as soon as Tuesday. The international restructuring of Sony BMG is expected to be complete by June 2005 and will mostly affect back-office operations, sources said.

Representatives from Sony and BMG declined comment Friday. Sony's artist roster includes Jessica Simpson, Destiny's Child and Audioslave. BMG acts include recent U.S. chart-toppers Usher, Avril Lavigne and Velvet Revolver.

The board of directors of the combined Sony BMG will comprise members of both companies. Andrew Lack, chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, will helm the merged company as CEO, with BMG chairman and CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz serving as the chairman of the board.

...more...

merger mania has a price for employment - look at that economy roar!

[lapfog_1]

1. The AVERAGE staffer at Sony or BMG

had a fully burdened cost of $165,000/year?

Even assuming 1/3 overhead (health care, FICA contribution, 401K, etc),
that's an average salary of $109,000 give or take.

Man, even allowing for California salaries, $109K as the average
wage for 2000 employees is really good.

So, what will 2000 recording industry executives do now?

[stopbush]

2. That's hardly how it works. The music biz has been top-heavy

for decades.

A friend of mine is a VP ar Warner Music in NYC. He makes around $120k p/a. His boss makes $250k. His boss makes $1million. His boss makes $17 million.

My friend's assistant makes $30k a year...and he can't get her a raise because WEA "is watching salaries."

[AP]

5. And they're whining about kids who won't pay $15 for their crappy CD's

so they bootleg them instead?

It sounds to me like they can afford to pay the guys low down a little more (so their kids can have $ to buy CDs) and they can probably afford to lower the prices of CDs so that it's more convenient to purchase than bootleg.

[NashVegas]

6. Go to the Indies

If they want to stay in the business. Some may even start their own labels.

[thecrow]

3. They will flip

burgers like the rest of us in the "manufacturing" industry.

[ixion]

4. ah yes... the jobloss recovery thunders on...

NOT! :eyes: :crazy:

[nolabels]

7. The corporations don't want the responibilty or the headaches

as has to do with managment of Human resources, the would just like the income they can make off it or plain just offing it to make a profit, they have been saying this all along


The Shadow Government


Secret Rule

It is becoming increasingly apparent to American citizens that government is no longer being conducted in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, or, within states, according to state constitutions. While people have recognized for more than 150 years that the rich and powerful often corrupt individual officials, or exert undue influence to get legislation passed that favors their interests, most Americans still cling to the naive belief that such corruption is exceptional, and that most of the institutions of society, the courts, the press, and law enforcement agencies, still largely comply with the Constitution and the law in important matters. They expect that these corrupting forces are disunited and in competition with one another, so that they tend to balance one another.

Mounting evidence makes it clear that the situation is far worse than most people think, that during the last several decades the U.S. Constitution has been effectively overthrown, and that it is now observed only as a façade to deceive and placate the masses. What has replaced it is what many call the Shadow Government. It still, for the most part, operates in secret, because its control is not secure. The exposure of this regime and its operations must now become a primary duty of citizens who still believe in the Rule of Law and in the freedoms which this country is supposed to represent.<1>
Transition to Oligarchy

It is difficult to identify a single date or event that marks the overthrow, but we can identify some critical steps.

The first was the Dick Act of 1903, which repealed the Militia Act of 1792 and tried to relegate the Constitutional Militia to the National Guard, under control of what is now the U.S. Defense Department. The second was the Federal Reserve Act, which established a central bank only nominally under the control of the government.

Further erosion of constitutional governance was motivated by several challenges which the powerful felt required them to put aside their differences and unite. The first was the Great Depression of 1933-1941. The second was World War II and the threat from fascism, followed by the Cold War and the threat from Soviet imperialism and from communism.
(snip)
http://freedomlaw.com/ShadGovt.html

written 1994,