Presumably the Wheatus boys will be pleased to hear that Sony's financials have been suffering of late - though that's **Sony
Electronics and not the record label. The electronics giant's fourth quarter earnings, revealed last week, were 13% down on the previous year. The company pointed to the general decline in TV, DVD and video camera sales as a reason for the dip, though some point out that the group's failure to gain much ground over Apple** et al in the digital music space can't have helped.
On that front insiders will be hoping that the reported integration between Sony's digital music services and the new PlayStation
Portable will help the group gain some ground on Apple (though, ironically, the general good fortune of the Sony group is also likely to be helped by a partnership between Sony and Apple on the digital video front!).