Warner Music Stock Collapse

Warner Music, former home to Madonna, has found itself in a monetary crisis. On Friday, November 9, 2007, its stock was selling at $7.50, according to both the New York Stock Exchange and FoxNews.com. A year ago, the former music conglomerate's stock was at a high of $27.

The primary question is what's wrong with Warner Music Group?

While many will point the finger at the tendency of the public to download music rather than buy CD's, the truth is that Warner has lost its luster of top-selling artists. A $30M dollar investment in Sean Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment has turned up nothing of value to the company. Madonna left Warner after 25 years with the company to sign with Live Nation. The Eagles, one of the company's mainstays, signed a lucrative deal with Wal-Mart.

In a huge "oops" for the company, Warner Music recently passed on the "Hairspray" soundtrack, a goldmine for New Line Cinema who distributed the film.