AMD gains on Intel as intrigue swirls
New data from research group IDC shows Advanced Micro Devices gained on arch rival Intel in the first quarter PC microprocessor market. There is of course still a huge gap between the two — Intel earned a 77.3 percent unit global market share, a loss of 4.7 percent, while AMD held 22.3 percent, a gain of 4.6 percent — but it’s all the more interesting given the intrigue swirling around the two companies.
EU antitrust regulators are expected to issue a ruling Wednesday that Intel illegally paid PC makers to postpone or cancel the launch of products using chips made by AMD, sources have told Reuters. The European Commission believes the violations occurred during a period stretching back eight years, the sources said. Intel could be hit with a sizable fine.
Intel, with revenue of $37.6 billion in 2008, dominates the microprocessor market. AMD posted revenue of $5.8 billion in 2008.
Also of note in the IDC research is fresh data on Intel’s Atom netbook processor. Shipments fell 33% quarter-over-quarter, indicating that equipment manufacturers held plenty of Atom inventory coming into the new year, IDC said. The group estimates Atom made up 21 percent of Intel’s mobile PC processor shipments in the quarter and 6.5 percent of its mobile PC processor revenue.
Overall, PC microprocessor unit shipments declined 13 percent from last year, while market revenue slid 25.1 percent, IDC said.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster: “Don’t stop Believing”
Live Nation and Ticketmaster might have plenty of people out there who are not pleased with the idea of the two companies coming together but they have received support from several superstars in the run-up to a U.S. anti-trust hearing in Washington DC on Tuesday.
Names like Seal, Shakira, Journey, Van Halen and Billy Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins) have all offered support to a merger some legislators, smaller rivals and fan groups worry will put too much power over the U.S. and global live music industry in the hands of just one company.
Some of the superstars have long-running relationships with Live Nation’s concert promotion business or are clients of Front Line Management, the artist management firm owned by Ticketmaster. Front Line has more than 200 acts under its wing giving it plenty of leverage in dealing with many promoters, venues and even record labels.
Eddie Van Halen, of 80s rockers Van Halen, wrote in a letter to the anti-trust committee seen by Reuters that the merger could help up-and-coming musicians like his 17-year old son Wolfgang (pictured together}) who joined the band as a bassist a couple of years ago:
There are so many problems facing the music industry today. Van Halen suceedeed based on our record sales and the many tours that we did to increase our record sales. But that business model just doesn’t work anymore. Today, the majority of artists earn their living from playipng live. What my son — and any future band he plays in — needs are new and innovative approaches to the problems facing the live entertainment industry. And I believe that the merger of Ticketmaster/Live Nation is one of those solutions.
Pop act Journey, probably best known for their anthem “Don’t Stop Believing“, were also supportive of the deal:
The music industry has changed dramatically in the last several years. As technology changes the way people get access to their music, one thing stands true — the live show. And the live show has become an even more important jumping off point to maintain the relationship between artists and our fans. The proposed merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment will provide artists at all levels of their careers with the opportunity to leverage a broader universe of venues and to expand their ability to reach current as well as new fans.
These acts have no integrity. They’re shilling out of self-interest – and dishonesty and even ignorance.
Just more evidence as to why the dinosaur that is the record industry deserves to be extinct.
The news is that the European Commission imposed a record €1.06 billion fine on chip maker Intel, Intel supposedly gave illegal rebates to customers and tried to squeeze rival AMD out of the European market.