UMG down in fiscal Q3

FORGET PARIS: The just-released Q3 report from Vivendi indicated that even mighty UMG is being impacted by the contracting music marketplace and broader economic factors. Revenues declined 13.4% (12.6% on a constant currency basis) to 889 million euros ($1.1 billion), while EBITDA was down 38.2% to 68 million euros ($86 million); 37.7% at constant currencies. Alarmingly, digital revenues were off as well, dropping 1.7%. Said Vivendi CFO Phillippe Capron, with all due gravity, "This is going to be a tough, challenging industry for a few more years." (5/13a)