Music Industry Bails Out Bricks’n’Mortar Record Stores

This story caught my eye.  UK record and other stuff chain HMV is struggling.  The collapse in the physical music and film sales has it it hard over the years and it looked like it was all over.  However it looks like the major music companies need HMV to survive and they are willing to help it out…

The retailer plans to hand 2.5% of its equity to major suppliers in the form of warrants. Other terms of the alliance are to remain confidential but they are believed to formalise a switch of risks to suppliers at the store chain.

As the last remaining nationwide music and DVD specialist, a collapse of HMV could be more financially damaging for film companies and record labels than for the group’s shareholders. Shares in HMV, which lost 90% of their value last year, doubled by Friday lunchtime to 4.75p.