Fox News' Roger Friedman writes that Sony is counting on a new Bruce Springsteen album this fall as its corporate savor:

For Bruce, a new album would be the first E Street Band release since "The Rising," his magnificent recording about 9/11. That album sold better than any previous Springsteen albums and picked up a number of Grammy nominations. Springsteen lost the award for best album to Norah Jones' debut, if you recall.

If you never tried it, pick up "The Rising" or download some of its amazing tracks like "Empty Sky" or "You're Missing."

The latter song, which had a serious message, could also be the theme song at Sony these days.

Quite a few people are missing — and they're not coming back. I'm told that layoffs are continuing, with several departments in publicity and marketing gutted.

When I mentioned this to a Sony higher-up the other day, the person replied: "You are the last one writing about the record business. Don't you realize it's over?"

Is the recording industry truly "over" as Friedman quotes his Sony source? Historically, it's always been an industry that's been obsessed with youth and entertainment. But Don Surber writes that just like Springsteen himself, the recording industry as a whole now finds itself with a talent pool that's both increasingly shrill sounding in its emphasis on activism over entertainment, and also increasingly long in the tooth.