Yahoo! Gobbles Up Online Music's Launch

In the world of online music, the little guy can't win. But in a few years, some of the big guys are going to be losing, too.

So said Launch Media (LAUN Quote) CEO Dave Goldberg Thursday following the announcement that Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) is spending $12 million in cash to buy Launch, the 7-year-old music video and personalized Internet radio Web site.

The purchase price of 92 cents per share -- well below Launch's all-time closing high of $30, set the day after its April 1999 IPO -- reflects the precipitous decline in the public's percept of what small, online media companies are worth. "It is not necessarily a good idea to be a small, public media company," Goldberg says. The tender offer's price, which Goldberg says the company was "very happy" to get, drove Launch's shares up 31 cents, or 53%, to 89 cents a share. ...