Music publishing company Chrysalis has given a downbeat assessment of its recent financial performance, confirming it made a loss in the most recent quarter. It says that the credit crunch, a slow release schedule for its songwriters' music, and the poor performance of its own record label - Echo - all contributed to the disappointing financials.
However, bosses there said they were optimistic about the future, noting the signing of two high profile artists - White Lies and Laura Marling - plus a planned rejig of the Echo label that will see its recordings business become "an exploitation company" run on the same lines as its publishing operations. Whatever that means.
A management statement reads thus: "[These things], coupled with the strength of our catalogue, makes the board hopeful that the music publishing business will return to Net Publishing Share growth in the medium term and subsequently return to its goal of annual NPS growth of at least 5% and outperformance against its industry peers".