EMI Group chairman Guy Hands has officially announced that he will cut up to 2000 jobs from the company by the middle of the year.
Earlier this week, news of the job cuts was sweeping the world and today, Hands made the announcement official.An EMI press release today stated that "The restructuring will also enable the group to capture significant efficiencies and cost reductions which are expect to reduce costs by up to £200 million per year. The restructuring is also expected to lead to a worldwide headcount reduction within the group of between 1,500 and 2,000".
EMI changes are designed to:
Repositioning EMI's labels to ensure they will be completely focussed on A&R and maximising the potential of all their artists
Developing a new partnership with artists, based on transparency and trust, and helping all artists monetise the value of their work by opening new income streams such as enhanced digital services and corporate sponsorship arrangements
Bringing together all the group's key support activities including sales, marketing manufacturing and distribution into a single division with a unified global leadership
The elimination of significant duplications within the group to simplify processes and reduce waste.
The major labels have been bleeding pretty much all century and Hands, who came in from Terra Firma, the new owners of EMI, plans to change that.
"We have spent a long time looking intensely at EMI and the problems faced by its Recorded Music division which, like the rest of the music industry, has been struggling to respond to the challenges posed by a digital environment," he said in a statement.
"We believe we have devised a new revolutionary structure for the group that will improve every area of the business. In short it will make EMI's music more valuable for the company and its artists alike. The changes we are announcing today will ensure that this iconic company will be creating wonderful music in a way that is profitable and sustainable."
So can he? The big stars think not. Paul McCartney and Radiohead have already jumped ship for an independent life. Robbie Williams and Coldplay are making claims that they will be next.
The positive part of this announcement is that Hands says that he will build up A&R. A&R is the one area most labels have let go in the last half a decade and as a result do not currently have enough great new talent to replace the old.
It's questionable if Hands will be able to attract the right sort of artists given the negative perception the company has built since the Terra Firma take-over.
The once great EMI was the home of The Beatles. Under contract, the label will release the next Coldplay record.
The label also current releases music by Keith Urban, Rolling Stones, Crowded House, Kasey Chambers, Norah Jones and Ben Harper.
