He's back.

James Glicker, who nearly sunk the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra during his messy tenure as president, but gets credit for seeking Marin Alsop as music director and rescurer of the institution, has returned to his former cyber milieu. The BBC reports that Glicker is the founder of Passionato, an online company being launched in the UK to provide what is billed as the world's largest stockpile of high-quality classical downloads (prices are currently only in British pounds). You may recall that Glicker, who had never worked for an orchestra before, came to the BSO with a resume heavy on dot.com work; he also had worked for BMG/RCA records. When he departed in early 2006, after 18 months on the job, his track record in Baltimore included plummeting morale and sky-rocketing debt ($18 million or so).

It's obvious that downloading is the present and immediate future for recorded music. It will be insteresting to see how successfully Passionato capitalizes on that.  I took a quick look and found it to be a handsome site with lots to choose from, and even a daily special.