NBA Lockout 2011: Reasons why Kevin Durant playing overseas shouldn't be an issue.

I recently came upon an article giving a few reasons why Kevin Durant (one of my favorite players) should be able to play abroad, without speculations and criticisms from fans. ESPN, amongst other sports networks, have reported that "Durant is talking with the Turkish club Besiktas and other clubs in Spain and Russia and the NBA lockout looming, it is becoming more and more likely that Durant will not be in a Thunder uniform when the 2011-12 NBA season is supposed to start.

Obviously none of us would blame Besiktas (who have already signed Deron Williams and are said by ESPN to be pursuing Kobe Bryant), but many probably would blame Durant."

Reasons:

1) If you don't use it, you lose it: an athletes career is, obviously, based on the athletic abilities, and the longevity of their career's may also be defined by how active these players stay, and how much they improve over the years. Professional NBA players require more than just practice to remain on top of their game. Competition is key, especially in sports.

2) He's young, and not prone to injury: Durant is 22, and missed only 4 games for the entire year. He's also hasn't missed more than 6 games for the entire season, and shows no signs of slowing down. The leagues overseas tend to be softer as well, and it would definitely be safer for him to be playing in a league than his recent street games.

3) It shows his love for the game: Durant scored 66 points at a game in Rucker park recently. His consistency, and yearning to keep playing only shows his passion for the game itself; not jus his paycheck.

4) He is still growing as a player: The experience overseas can only add to his gameplay and strengthen his maturity faster.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/800911-nba-lockout-2011-five-reasons-why-kevin-durant-playing-overseas-is-just-fine

Warner Music Group CEO Discusses F3Q2011 Results

I recently read an article in the form of a transcript. The participants were all part of WMG; these individuals were Jill Kutrick (Senior VP, Investor Relations), Edgar Bronfman, Jr. (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer), and Steve Macri (Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer). The analysts were various members of different financial institutions. Kutrick began the call, introducing the CEO's and their respective positions. She went on to state that projected expectations would also be included in the report, and warned investors not to rely solely on "forward-looking statements". 

Bronfman proceeded by first mentioning the recent developments at WMG which would help facilitate forward movement in the record industry's transition. He went on to note that "For the first six months of this year the industry saw U.S. album unit sales rise. The first time that’s happened since 2004, which is an encouraging development. And in just the past couple of months we have seen the announcement and introductions of a number of new and exciting digital music services. And the emergence of other products and business models including various cloud based offerings." 

He also mentioned the steps governments and technology partners worldwide are taking to protect copyright. Most importantly, as with any financial discussion, are the actual numbers. Bronfman noted WMG "delivered the greatest U.S. album share growth of 23% between 2004 and 2010 of any major music group", and "(WMG's) U.S. recorded music business grew its digital revenue to 48% of total U.S. recorded music revenue, up from 41% last year. And Warner Music Group’s total worldwide digital revenue grew by 9%".

Macri sufficiently backed Bronfman by further providing more evidence of recent success. "This quarter we delivered solid performance across our businesses. Revenue was largely stable...We reported revenue of $686 million down just 1% year-over-year with international growth of 5% largely offsetting domestic declines. Quarterly digital revenue was $203 million 30% of total revenue. We saw particularly strong growth in global digital downloads, while newer revenue from streaming businesses, such as Spotify also increased." He also went on to mention their targeted cost savings for the following 9 fiscal periods, critical, especially in the economy's current state. He also mentioned a loss on their free cash flow of $36 Million due to investments. 

Overall, they were satisfied with the how the business operated for the period, and stated they were confident of their future plans.

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/285352-warner-music-group-s-ceo-discusses-f3q2011-results-earnings-call-transcript