Media reports say that EMI Group will be cutting about one third of its 6,000 workers, along with dropping a number of the artists.
The Wall Street Journal reported sources tell them the majority of cuts will come from the recorded-music unit, and not so much from the music-publishing side.
Concerning the artists, the private-equity company Terra Firma, which acquired EMI last year said via CEO Guy Hands that they want to drop thousands of the EMI artists. This isn't any small measure they're taking, it's the difference between surviving or not.
With news like this, artists better take a look at how Radiohead is doing things, it may be the only future they have; they better take it into their own hands.
Some of the labels' bigger artists, Coldplay and Robbie Williams are already going against the actions, with Coldplay's manager saying even before the news, "Artists want to work with music people, not finance guys."
The problem is this industry has needed "finance guys," otherwise it wouldn't be in the horrible shape it is. This is just cleaning up what nobody else was willing to do.
There's no way the industry is going to survive without going through a lot of pain. That pain is only just beginning. Fiscal discipline is just the first salvo being taken, there's a lot more to come.
Ouch! The business of music is certainly taking a big hit these days, but it would be good to see artists taking more control over their businesses by taking matters into their own hands. Especially good for established artists, self-releasing is the answer for musicians. I'd like to find the answer for record label employees.
Posted by: Dana | January 15, 2008 10:56 AM | Permalink to Comment