AOLTW AND BERTIE TRY, TRY AGAIN

Reports surfaced earlier this week that talks between AOLTW and Bertelsmann to merge their WMG and BMG music divisions had hit a snag due to either accounting or (more likely) valuation issues. Then, it was revealed that Bertie’s book publishing division, Random House, had walked away from an earlier $300 million deal to acquire AOLTW’s Little, Brown and Warner Books units.

Suggesters are now suggesting that Parsons and company, with their CD/DVD manufacturing unit and music publishing company already on the blocks, are trying to leverage the failed book deal into a more favorable position vis a vis the WMG-BMG music merger.

Meanwhile, Roger Ames’ Warner Music Group had its best sales week in a while, with the #1 and #2 albums on the chart in Elektra's Metallica and Atlantic's Jewel, eight of the Top 20 and 15 of the Top 50, challenging UMG for the marketshare lead.