The record industry's last big hit may have been Edgar Bronfman's $2.6bn acquisition of Warner Music in 2004. With cost cuts and special dividend payments, Mr Bronfman, 53, and his private equity partners made their money back - and then some - within months.

More recently, though, Warner, which went public in 2005, has served as a barometer of investors' anxiety about an industry that has struggled to adapt to the impact of the internet.