Eliot Van Buskirk

Major Label To Cut up to 2K Jobs

Guy Hands, who has chaired EMI since its takeover by Terra Firma, told a group of the label’s staff, managers, and artists that he would save the ailing label nearly $400 million in 2008 by trimming up to 2,000 jobs over the next 6 months. The company’s sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution divisions will be […]
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Guy Hands, who has chaired EMI since its takeover by Terra Firma, told a group of the label's staff, managers, and artists that he would save the ailing label nearly $400 million in 2008 by trimming up to 2,000 jobs over the next 6 months.

The company's sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution divisions will be merged into a single unit controlled worldwide by the same executives, while member labels will focus only on A&R (finding new acts).

In addition, the label hopes to develop "a new partnership with
artists, based on transparency and trust, and helping all artists monetize the value of their work by opening new income streams such as enhanced digital
services and corporate sponsorship arrangements."

Some of the label's more established acts are not taking kindly to the news, according to Billboard:

The new owners were already facing an artists' revolt even beforetoday's announcement, with Robbie Williams' manager expressing concernabout the direction of the company, and Coldplay's manager voicing his"confusion" at last week's departure of EMI U.K. Chairman and CEO TonyWadsworth.

However, the company claims many of the measuresbeing implemented have come at the suggestion of staff, artists andtheir managers.

Up-and-comingsocial band funding site SlicethePie took advantage of the announcementby trumpeting the fact that its members will fund more newbands than EMI (or any other major label) will:

Slicethepie, the website that enables music fans to run their ownrecord label, estimates over 30 unsigned artists will secure financingfrom fans and investors on the site in 2008, more UK artists than EMI,
Sony BMG or Warner Music achieved last year.

It's almost as if major labels and startups are digging from opposite ends of the same chunnel – the majors by reducing staff, focusing on core objectives, and borrowing ideas from startups, while the startups expand by signing and crowdfunding talent or juxtaposing major label catalogs with grassroots music.

(image from uchicago.edu)