EMI: “And Now For Something Completely Different”

Dan Gibson | November 7, 2008 1:30 am

We know that some people might be dismayed to hear that EMI hasn’t just closed up shop and given up on music entirely. But the beleaguered company has–really!–earned £59 million (before tax, depreciation and amortization) in the second and third quarters of 2008, thanks in part to the successes of Coldplay and Katy Perry. “EMI is absolutely not bankrupt, far from it. EMI has never been in such a financially sound situation,” recorded-music CEO Elio Leoni-Sceti said of this news. And now the company’s planning to restructure itself, splitting the music aspect of the business into three parts.

Elio Leoni-Sceti, chief executive of the company’s recorded music division, will unveil the plans at a presentation to staff. The Italian Executive will announce that the business will be split into three distinct global units: new music, catalogue and music services, and with an increase in marketing resources, according to the Financial Times. The online music service EMI.com will launch this December.

Still, Leoni-Sceti isn’t entirely optimistic about his company’s future, saying that the road ahead will be “not be smooth or easy.” While most labels have some separation between their new releases and catalog, it seems like creating a deeper divide between the two might not be a great idea for EMI, which needs to find a way to leverage its discography to make enough money to take chances on new artists. The company is counting on releases from Sarah Brightman and Tom Jones to create excitement in the fourth quarter, so clearly EMI has a A&R problem. And I doubt it’ll be solved by sending the new release department out on an iceberg by itself.

EMI announces restructuring plans [Guardian]