Digital Media Digest

This list is compiled mostly from Digital Music News headlines and Tech Crunch.  I wanted to put together a very quick time-line on the state of media/web industry shrinkage in Q4 2008.  While there was growth in small doses, the economy fallout served as an overarching force of destruction industry-wide.  These selections are ones that stuck out to me.  For a more complete list, try the links above.

• Dec. 20 – Electronic Arts (EA) lays off 1,000.  Plans to shut down nine of its 50 facilities
• Dec. 19 – Circuit City vacates 154 leases on stores earmarked for shutdown
• Dec. 18 – Equity Music Group shuts down
• Dec. 17 – Best Buy offers voluntary layoffs
• Dec. 15 – Layoffs at Sandisk
• Dec. 12 – Last.fm reaches 20% reduction (20 employees)
• Dec. 10 – NPR downsizes 7% (64 jobs)
• Dec. 9 – Layoffs at Sony (8000)
• Dec. 9 – Fusion enters Bankruptcy
• Dec. 8 – Alliance Entertainment announces downsizing
• Dec. 5 – Real Networks (130) and Viacom (859) downsizing
• Dec. 4 – NBC lays off 500
• Dec. 4 – Pinnacle Distribution (UK) enters into Administration (Bankruptcy)
• Dec. 3 – Brightcove lays off 15 (25%)
• Dec. 2 – Borders reduces floorspace
• Nov. 30 – Woolworths (UK entertainment distribution) finds itself in Administration (Bankruptcy)
• Nov. 26 – Warner Music Group announces a “sell” stock rating  with little chance of recovery in the near future
• Nov. 26 – Altantic records hits 51% digital.  Evidence of a deteriorating physical revenue stream
• Nov. 26 – Radio Revenues slip 9%
• Nov. 25 – Sirius XM stocks continue to plummet
• Nov. 25 – Year-over-year album sales in Oct 2008 down 19.4%
• Nov. 23 – Layoffs at Buzznet
• Nov. 20 – First iPod sales decline projected
• Nov. 20 – Live Nation stocks hit all-time low
• Nov. 18 – Warner Music Group stocks hit all-time low
• Nov. 16 – Layoffs at Siriux XM
• Nov. 14 – Layoffs at Thumbplay (15 employees/20%)
• Nov. 11 – Ticketmaster Earnings Down
• Nov. 11 – Wired.com lays of 12
• Nov. 11 – Virgin Mobile lays off 2200
• Nov. 10 – Circuit City declares Bankruptcy
• Nov. 10 – More layoffs at Sandisk and Sirius XM
• Nov. 10 – Dell shelves it’s $100 mp3 player due to economic reasons
• Nov. 9 – BitTorrent cuts 18 more employees (50% of workforce)
• Nov. 7 – Circuit City lays off 800
• Nov. 6 – EMI looks to outsource physical distribution after a disastrous quarter
• Nov. 5 – Tweeter announces store closings
• Nov. 4 – Plunging automobile sales produce less demand for Sirius XM dashboard models
• Nov. 4 – Walmart threatens more shelf space shringage
• Nov. 3 – Circuit City sheds 155 stores
• Oct. – EA lays off 600
• Oct. 30 – EMI posts annualized loss of 757 million pounds
• Oct. 30 – Layoffs at eMusic
• Oct. 29 – SonyBMG posts $57 million loss in Q2
• Oct. 23 – Layoffs reach highest level since 2001
• Oct. 22 – Ticketmaster Lays off 300 (5% of global workforce)
• Oct. 22 – Layoffs at iMeem
• Oct. 22 – Dell lays off 8900 (10%)
• Oct 21 – Yahoo Lays off 1500
• Oct 21 – Worldspace files for Bankruptcy
• Oct 19 – Pandora lays off 14%
• Oct. 16 – Sirius XM lays off 50
• Oct. 14 – Layoff Documents emerge at Sirius XM
• Oct. 3 – Ebay lays off 1300
• Oct. 1 – Sony Ericson starts Layoffs (2000K jobs)