DMN: Is Something Very Bad About to Happen to Billboard?

BIBLE THUMPING? In this morning’s edition of Digital Music News, Paul Resnikoff asks the question, Is Something Very Bad About to Happen to Billboard? “Whether this publication is ‘on the verge of economic collapse,’ as one executive describes, is difficult to gauge,” he writes. “But reports from the inside suggest an uncertain climate, with considerable anxiety over future direction. That includes a possible hiring and spending freeze, according to a separate source.” Resnikoff then cites several problems, including the suspending of registrations for the four-month-old Billboard Pro and the abrupt removal of Richard 'Mad Dog' Beckman from the day-to-day operations of parent company Prometheus Media Group. It was Beckman who initiated the extreme makeover on the Hollywood Reporter, another Prometheus acquisition. "They relaunched it as a consumer brand, and it tanked," a source told Resnikoff. But the most serious problem is that investors apparently want out, and are losing patience with the plan. "They bought these properties and now there's serious buyer's remorse," another executive close to the acquisition told DMN. (8/5a)