Bertelsmann’s music unit BMG, in the midst of merger talks with several parties, is hitting it big on the charts.
The company, which last month reported disappointing first-half results partly because many of its planned releases were pushed back to the end of the year, currently has five of the top eight albums in the key U.S. market.
These include albums by OutKast, Dido, Martina McBride, Dave Matthews and R. Kelly.
BMG had high hopes for these artists, but Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, BMG’s chairman and CEO, told The Post that the releases had surpassed internal goals.
“We already had an ambitious target, but this surprises us positively,” he said. “Every album we’ve put out has done better than we expected.”
BMG bigwigs say the hot streak will continue. “We’re not even halfway in,” said Michael Smellie, BMG’s chief operating officer. He noted that the company is slated to release albums in the coming weeks by Pink, Britney Spears, Alicia Keys and the Strokes.
BMG has planned its heaviest fourth quarter yet: Between September and December, it has scheduled 21 new albums by artists with a track record of selling at least 1 million copies.
One album, by Usher, has been delayed, but BMG execs say the others are on track.
In the first half of the year BMG saw its revenue drop almost 7 percent to $1.17 billion, while it posted an operating loss of $126.9 million.
BMG’s hot streak couldn’t have come at a better time, given that it continues to negotiate with potential merger partners.
For most of the summer BMG was locked in exclusive talks with Warner Music about a 50-50 joint venture between the two companies’ recorded music divisions. Those talks broke down over management control, but BMG remains in non-exclusive discussions with Warner, as well as with EMI and Sony Music.
A BMG-Sony combination appears the most likely outcome, given that EMI and Warner are locked in their own discussions. Sources close to those talks say that a deal is likely to happen.
A BMG spokesman said yesterday: “BMG believes consolidation is necessary in the music industry and remains open to discussions with various parties.”