Record Biz Circles The Drain

The slump in CD sales for 2007 continues to make its mark on the recorded music industry as Warner Music Group and EMI announced third quarter losses.

WMG took another a big hit with a $17 million, or 12 cents per share, loss compared to last year’s same-period dip of $14 million, or 10 cents per share. Not including nonrecurring items related to a restructuring and settlement, Warner’s 3Q loss was $29 million.

In addition, WMG revenue declined 2 percent from a year ago to $804 million from $822 million.

EMI, which was acquired by private equity group Terra Firma a week before announcing its 3Q financials, reported August 6th that its revenue declined by 5.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

Both companies reported increases in digital sales, however, with WMG reporting an uptick of 27 percent at $112 million, while EMI tallied a 26 percent rise from last year.