WMG earnings

LEN’S WMG MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION: Pop the champagne and pour the Stoli—with lime! Warner Music lost less money during the latest quarter than the last one! The bunny lost $46 million in fiscal Q3, compared to a loss of $55 million a year ago period. On the downside, a onetime cash injection—the settlement with LimeWire—accounted for $12 million of the black ink. Revenue rose 6% to $686 million, though it calculates to a 1% decline in terms of constant currencies. Digital revenue was $203 million, or 30% of the total. In the U.S., digital revenue increased to $108 million, or 47.6% of total domestic recorded music revenue, compared with 40.9% in the Q3 2010. Said Edgar Bronfman, who’s now CEO of the company: “We are approaching the point where the majority of our U.S. recorded music business will be digital while continuing to transform our approach to artist signings, with more than 60% of the artists on our active global recorded music roster being signed to deals with a comprehensive suite of expanded rights.” Chairman Lyor Cohen is hoping that someone will translate Edgar’s statement into English. (8/4a)