Forget the Oscars. Watch Warner

And now, as part of a planned cut of $200 to $300 million in costs, it axed 20% of the workforce at Warner Music, removing the CEO of their Elektra records division and two senior execs at Atlantic records.

Leader of the investor group and new CEO, Edgar Bronfman, said in a statement that "painful changes" were necessary for Warner Music remain competitive in a "rapidly evolving marketplace".

Mr Bronfman went on to say that he wants to "implement a strategy that will enable the company not only to meet the challenges of the current environment, but also to take full advantage of future opportunities".

Internet piracy must rate highly as one of his "challenges" but using the web for the distribution of music should represent both an "evolving marketplace" and a "future opportunity".

Will Bronfman talk to KazaA and others about paid-downloads? We'll have to wait and see. At least he is indicating that he might embrace modern technology rather than try to stifle its use. µ