Sony Music posts quarterly loss

SIR HOWARD’S STRUGGLES: Sony Music may have climbed past UMG in marketshare this year in the U.S., but according to the parent company’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending June 30, overall sales at Sony’s music division fell 0.6% to 109.6 billion yen ($1.4 billion) when measured on global currencies. Crunching the numbers another way, however, operating income was up 61% on the quarter to 12.1 billion yen ($155.9 million), while SME eked out a modest gain when measured by local currencies. That’s good news compared to the rest of the company’s divisions: Sony lost 15.5 billion yen, or $199 million, buffeted by the aftereffects of the Japanese earthquake and the recent cyber attacks, lackluster TV sales and a strong yen. The company hopes to reverse its recent fortunes via the next-gen PlayStation, which has been dubbed the Vita, and its own tablet. More in the N.Y. Times. (7/29a)