Citing a lighter release schedule and the continued drop in CD sales, Warner Music Group reported 74-percent drop in first-quarter profit, sending shares in the company falling more than five percent in midday trading.

WMG band My Chemical Romance.

The New York-based music company said profit dipped to $18 million, or 12 cents per share, from $69 million, or 46 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. The company's revenue fell 11 percent to $928 million from $1.04 billion during the prior-year period.

The label said that releases by Josh Groban, My Chemical Romance, and Eric Clapton were its strongest of the quarter, but sales of those paled in comparison to that of Madonna and James Blunt, whose albums drove the label to record profits in the first quarter of 2006.

"This was a difficult quarter, in some part because the industry still faces the challenging environment, but almost entirely due to the comparisons to our very strong first quarter last year," WMG CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr. said in a conference call announcing the earnings.

The label reported $100 million in digital sales, up 45 percent from $69 million in the prior-year quarter, but slid 4 percent from $104 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Digital revenue was 11 percent of total revenue and 17 percent of total domestic recorded music revenue, the company said.