Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Guitar Center Agrees to Be Acquired by Private Equity Firm for $1.9B in Cash

Guitar Center Agrees to $1.9B Buyout
Wednesday June 27, 9:37 am ET

Guitar Center Agrees to Be Acquired by Private Equity Firm for $1.9B in Cash

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — Guitar Center Inc., the largest U.S. musical instrument retailer, said Wednesday its board had accepted a $1.9 billion cash buyout offer from a private equity firm.

The deal with affiliates of Bain Capital Partners LLC came amid speculation that a buyout was in the works. Guitar Center had hired investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co. to auction the company.

Bain Capital offered to pay $63 per share, which represents a premium of 26 percent over Guitar Center’s closing price Tuesday of $50.06. The purchase price is based on the company’s 30.2 million shares outstanding at the end of March.

Under the agreement, the buyers will also assume about $200 million in debt, pushing the total transaction value to $2.1 billion.

The deal, which requires approval by Guitar Center shareholders, is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Guitar Center shares climbed $9.84, or 19.7 percent, to $59.90 in premarket trading.

Marty Albertson, Guitar Center chairman and chief executive, said in a statement that the deal “is a strong validation of the company’s accomplishments over the years as well as our future growth prospects.”

Last month, Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew J. Fassler said the retailer was “optimally positioned for a sale, given its dominant competitive position and capital allocation opportunities, as well as a savvy shareholder base.”

Guitar Center began in 1959 when former car salesman Wayne Mitchell purchased a small appliance and home organ store in Hollywood. In 1964, Mitchell converted a movie theater next door to his Hollywood shop, and opened the first Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard.

The company, which now has more than 210 stores, went public in 1997. The stock has more than tripled since its initial share sale, and revenue last year was $2.03 billion, compared with $296.7 million in 1997.

This year, Guitar Center bought musical instrument retailer Woodwind & Brasswind for about $30 million.

Guitar Center posted first quarter profit of $17.2 million, a 9.7 percent increase from a year earlier, as sales climbed 14 percent to $534.5 million.

 

Posted by InterNetics eMagazine at 17:02:46 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

New Service of PayPlay.fm - Digital MP3 store - the latest in music downloads

  Boss Love: The United Kingdom Collection by Lee Rogers

Favorite

Artwork | Cover of Boss Love: The United Kingdom Collectionview larger image

Rhythm & Blues | R&B Pop Crossover

22 tracks | 57 minutes

Released May 2007
on D-Town Records, Inc.

Click Listen sample for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.

listen album 30sec. shuffle buy CD, review album promote album

MP3WMA
sample “DOWNLOAD” Sad Affair “BUY MP3″ Sad Affair
sample “DOWNLOAD” Doggin’ Myself Around “BUY MP3″ Doggin’ Myself Around
sample “DOWNLOAD” Boss Love “BUY MP3″ Boss Love
sample “DOWNLOAD” Cracked Up Over You (The Seseme Street Song) “BUY MP3″ Cracked Up Over You (The Seseme Street Song)
sample “DOWNLOAD” You’re The Cream Of The Crop “BUY MP3″ You’re The Cream Of The Crop
sample “DOWNLOAD” Go Go Girl “BUY MP3″ Go Go Girl
sample “DOWNLOAD” How Are You Fixed For Love “BUY MP3″ How Are You Fixed For Love
sample “DOWNLOAD” I Want You To Have Everything “BUY MP3″ I Want You To Have Everything
sample “DOWNLOAD” (I’d) Walk On By (If I Were A Mighty Man) “BUY MP3″ (I’d) Walk On By (If I Were A Mighty Man)
sample “DOWNLOAD” I’m A Practical Guy “BUY MP3″ I’m A Practical Guy
sample “DOWNLOAD” Jack The Playboy “BUY MP3″ Jack The Playboy
sample “DOWNLOAD” Just You And I “BUY MP3″ Just You And I
sample “DOWNLOAD” Love Can Really Hurt You Deep “BUY MP3″ Love Can Really Hurt You Deep
sample “DOWNLOAD” Love For A Love “BUY MP3″ Love For A Love
sample “DOWNLOAD” My One And Only “BUY MP3″ My One And Only
sample “DOWNLOAD” Same Thing That Make You Laugh “BUY MP3″ Same Thing That Make You Laugh
sample “DOWNLOAD” Sock Some Love Power To Me “BUY MP3″ Sock Some Love Power To Me
sample “DOWNLOAD” Somebody Else Will “BUY MP3″ Somebody Else Will
sample “DOWNLOAD” Sweet Baby Talk “BUY MP3″ Sweet Baby Talk
sample “DOWNLOAD” Troubles “BUY MP3″ Troubles
sample “DOWNLOAD” You Won’t Have To Wait Til Xmas “BUY MP3″ You Won’t Have To Wait Til Xmas
sample “DOWNLOAD” Love And War “BUY MP3″ Love And War

The Prince Of Detroit, Lee Rogers Craton. He was the influence and style for Marvin Gaye. Mike Hanks created D-Town Records for Lee Rogers. Rogers Music did not appeal to the radio masses, but he was king of the jukebox.


Bio / Background

Marlin, Texas was a music-loving town. The folks there loved gospel and R&B. I got a chance to see and listen to recordings and artists that I could never have found in Lancaster, California where Country & Western tastes ran high.

One August day, I came across a 45-rpm single that had over 50 records in the same bin. That was unusual, because most of the records in the bins contain only ten copies. This particular record was on a bright yellow label. The label letters were drawn in big black block letters that seemed to shout the label name: D–TOWN! The artist was named Lee Rogers, and the “A” side of the record was “I Want You To Have Everything.”

It was close to the end of the work day. The heat had broken and the little record store filled up with people. I found myself being pushed aside by the older ladies as they kept coming over to this D-Town bin to purchase this record. Lee must have sold over ten records in less than five minutes . . .

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Sunday, June 3, 2007

Net Music Makers Online Virtual Recording Studios - You Can Have One

About NMM
The Vision

NetMusicMakers.com (“NMM”) is a music entertainment website that allows users to create a personalized virtual studio, access royalty-free licks & loops from legendary musicians, sell their songs, and get airplay over a fan-driven multi-channel internet radio network.   NMM is revolutionizing the music industry, allowing solo acts and bands to manage their complete library of songs, including individual recordings, tracks, and mixes.

NMM is the first of its kind musicians-oriented website dedicated to creating a 360-degree music experience for novice, intermediate, professional, and recreational players, from making music to finding your audience.

Launched in August 2006, NMM is a digital entertainment property of House of Hansen Productions, LLC, headquartered in Sacramento, California. Focused on providing a robust set of tools to empower do-it-yourself (DIY) artists and musicians, the NMM team includes Web 2.0 developers, touring & studio musicians, radio personalities-turned-podcasters, and creative artists.

The Team
Chuck Hansen - Chairman and CEO  

Chuck is responsible for strategic initatives for NMM, joining the company June 1, 2007.  Chuck brings over 25 years of large-scale applications design and development, including deployment of some of the world’s largest and most trafficked websites, used by citizens doing business with their governments.

 

Prior to joining NMM, Chuck was CEO and co-founder of Hansen Information Technologies, a leading provider of web-based government solutions, recently sold to Infor Global Solutions.

 

Chuck has a long commitment to music.  At 17, Chuck was named to the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All Star Band, where he played baritone sax behind Dizzy Gillespie, Mundell Lowe, and Louie Belson.  During his college days – first as an undergraduate at Berkeley and later earning his MBA at UCLA — he earned extra money playing gigs.  Last year, Chuck took the stage with Huey Lewis and The News for a private corporate-sponsored appearance and is a Super Patron for the International Association of Jazz Educators.

 

Teamed with Tower of Power’s Stephan ‘Doc’ Kupka and NMM President Jeff Tamelier, Chuck will be releasing Bumped Up To First Class, later this summer.  Playing baritone and bass saxophones, the CD features Huey Lewis, Cold Blood’s Lydia Pense, SNL’s Lenny Pickett, Santana’s Chester Thompson, and Edgar Winter.  Chuck is also working with Doc on a new project with legendary Hollywood conductor William ‘Bill’ Ross.

 

In addition to NMM, Chuck is a member of the Strokeland Super Band and plays regularly with R&B/Funk band, Hip Service.  Chuck is also a member of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 12.

Sample MP3: 
Jeff Tamelier - President   

Jeff is responsible for all online content and music services, musician’s lounge, the NMM House Band, and day-to-day operations of the company. An established artist, musician, producer, and music educator, prior to joining House of Hansen Productions, LLC, Jeff toured as lead guitarist for Tower of Power, endorsing a number of cutting-edge companies, like Dunlop, Fender, and Monster Cable.

Jeff learned the fundamentals of playing guitar at age 9 from blind teacher and mentor, Jim Phillips, aka “Blindgym,” joining his first band at age 11. In 1985, Jeff joined ‘Lydia Pense and Cold Blood,’ another popular East Bay band from Bill Graham’s San Francisco label. In 1991, Jeff joined with Mickey Thomas and ‘Starship’ touring worldwide.

Jeff has produced artists from all walks of life, including Alternative, Country, Funk, Hip-Hop, R&B, Smooth Jazz, and Techno. Today, as President of House of Hansen Productions, LLC, Jeff is building the #1 destination website for online music collaboration and podcasting.

Zaqary Whitnack - Creative Director   

Zaqary is a creative media specialist for television and web based ventures. Zaqary started as a producer for a national television show called “Scratch” where he worked to promote and advertise the program in the top 30 markets across the country. He soon teamed up on another national show titled “Pulse” to do the same. Soon after Zaqary left broadcast to become the Creative Services Director for Scitex Digital, a 44 million dollar a year computer hardware company. As a freelancer his creative services have been called upon by Disneyland Advertising, Panasonic, ESPN, Cisco Systems, HP to name a few. His work has been recognized with multiple awards, including three N.A.T.A.S. Emmy’s Awards.

Posted by InterNetics eMagazine at 16:48:36 | Permalink | Comments (1) »