Rio Caraeff Profiled By CNET

Caraeff And Akon

RIO CARAEFF didn't come up in the music business scouring nightclubs and honkey tonks for talented new acts, writes CNET NEWS. CARAEFF, UMG's EVP/eLabs, has a background in mobile technology and software. Nonetheless, he just might be the prototype for the label exec of the future.

Unlike more traditional industry suits, CARAEFF doesn't believe litigation is the answer to piracy. He doesn't believe in copy-protection software. He doesn't believe that the music industry needs to find a strong competitor to APPLE to flourish. What he does believe in nurturing new revenue streams and pruning 10-click online music shopping to one. He believes in the power of mobile devices to sell music (he says GOOGLE's cell phone, ANDROID, is proving to be a powerful music-buying tool).

He appears to be right in at least some of his beliefs as UNIVERSAL is coming off a productive year. For the first nine months of 2008, UNIVERSAL reported that revenue was up 3.5% to nearly $4 billion and digital sales grew 33%.

Check out the full interview here.

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