DIGITAL MUSIC GOES GLOBAL

“We tend to release "chaku-uta" (mastertones) one or two months before the physical release for testmarketing, and use the market’s response to judge the song’s hit potential in physical form.” Takashi Kimoto, managing director of sales, marketing and digital at Universal Music Japan “It’s about working with our business partners and coming up with consumer friendly options. We are starting with the consumer and working backwards which is proving a successful approach.” Lachie Rutherford, president of Warner Music Asia-Pacific “Baidu has become the largest and most incorrigible distributor of pirated music in China.” Qu Jing Ming, director general of the Music Copyright Society of China “The campaign drove substantial re-orders following strong consumer demand.” Alfonso Perez-Soto, head of business development and strategic partnerships, Warner Music Latin America (on the Hard Candy initiative) “It’s a good example of a developing act working with digital. The coordination of traditional radio and digital pre-release promotion led to the sale of a million handsets containing tracks from NX Zero.” John Echevarria, chief operating officer, Universal Latin America.