[rocknation]

MetalSucks.net:

...(A)ccording to Music Business Worldwide, “sources are now suggesting” that...Sony paid a purchase price of $17 million for the rights to Century Media and all of its sub-labels...

I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this acquisition soon from both parties. In the meantime...read...(what) we wrote about..

Why It Makes Sense for Century Media To Sell To A Major

1. Robert Kampf...(has) been running the label for almost 30 years...The untimely passing of co-founder Oliver Withöft last year couldn’t have helped matters...

3. The label’s biggest bands have mostly moved on. Shadows Fall are broken up (and past their prime anyway), In This Moment moved over to Atlantic and Suicide Silence are now on Nuclear Blast. Lacuna Coil reportedly have only one record left on their deal with Century. I’m not sure about the status of Arch Enemy’s contract, but they’re not the big sellers they used to be. As for Iced Earth… I love ’em, but c’mon...

4. Century has failed to develop a new crop of young, talented metal bands. Century’s been so busy the past five or so years chasing the hard rock dragon...that they’ve failed to develop a meaningful crop of young metal bands that will carry them through the next generation...

7. There is already a blueprint for this: Roadrunner Records. We’ve already seen what happens...(T)he label will issue some completely meaningless statement such as “We promise to keep our core values intact...This will just make us stronger..." The acquiring label will make a similarly hollow statement about how they intend to take a “hands off” approach...Things will seem to run as usual for a year or two, until...the major label brass (either) re-purposes Century...or...retains a small core of marketing staff to handle (the) existing recording obligations until those bands’ contracts expire...The acquiring label is simply interested in Century’s catalogue...

Spent many a happy hour with Roadrunner reviewing and interviewing the likes of Sepultura, Biohazard, Cradle of Filth, Type O Negative (RIP Pete Steele), Life of Agony. A quick perusal of their home page reveals Warped Tour merchandise -- I can remember when their receptionist would have beaten up their ad rep just for the exercise -- and...Rush???