EMI is making plans to downgrade from a major music company to just a label. CNN is reporting that the 4th biggest music company is the world is slowly downsizing in America.
The immediate plan, according to CNN, is to outsource distribution, sales and marketing in an attempt to slow its billion-dollar bleed.The company is said to be in talks with the three other majors, Universal, Warner and Sony, shopping itself for the best deal.
2008 has not been kind to EMI. Market-share in the US shrunk from 9.1% to 8.2%. The company has lost $US415 million in the financial year to March 2008.
Investment Company Terra Firma paid $6.4 billion for the company is August 2007 and has had a major cutback of staff in that time.
The outsourcing of the distribution, sales and marketing could save the company $300 million in the next year.
Outside the USA, Warner already distributes and markets EMI catalogue in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Korea.
The biggest EMI release of 2008 was Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida'.
