Will Tanous, who by all accounts has proven invaluable to shepherding UMG to market, had prior experience with an IPO—under very different circumstances.
Tanous was a player in WMG’s going public during the Edgar Bronfman Jr./Thomas H. Lee era. The year was 2005, the business had been in the post-Napster doldrums for several years and iTunes had just opened. The offering put Warner’s market cap at $2.4b. In 2011, after more bleak years, Len Blavatnik shrewdly forked over a tidy $3.3b for the label group. That now looks like a rather keen investment given that WMG’s market cap at present is $23.7b.
NEAR TRUTHS: REALIGNMENT AND RECOGNITION
Underscoring the year's biggest stories (11/19a)
NEAR TRUTHS: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Nervous time in the music biz and beyond. (11/16a)
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NOW WHAT?
We have no fucking idea.
COUNTRY'S NEWEST DISRUPTOR
Three chords and some truth you may not be ready for.
AI IS ALREADY EATING YOUR LUNCH
The kids can tell the difference... for now.
WHO'S BUYING THE DRINKS?
That's what we'd like to know.
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