In yet another long-overdue blow to the hydra-headed dinosaur called the Record Industry, EMI Music today announced that it was set to send 2000 jobs to the chopping block:
The restructuring plans come from EMI’s private equity owner Guy Hands, who bought the firm for £3.2bn last year.
The record industry has been trying to cut costs as it faces falling CD sales and a switch to internet downloads.
EMI, whose artists include Coldplay and Kylie Minogue, said the cuts would take effect over the next six months.
Among the more controversial cuts making waves inside the company: Gorillaz’s Korean animators, Daft Punk’s entire IT Department, The Dandy Warhols‘ personal wardrobe consultants (who have been sleeping on the job for a few years now anyway, and god bless ‘em for it [Note: NWS]), and whoever the hell really sang on all those Spice Girls records.
The Guardian chimed in as well:
A spokesman for the company pointed out that the current business model at EMI was unsustainable. He noted that 85% of what is put out does not make any money while 30% of artists who get advances never produce an album.
If i find out that Trace Adkins’ “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” failed to turn a profit, i’ll be heartbroken. Don’t you just feel terrible for these guys? How are they supposed to deliver the new Yellowcard and 30 Seconds to Mars that the public is thirsting for when they have to spend money manufacturing over a million extra Robbie Williams CDs to send to China to be used in road surfacing and street lighting because no one bought them?
At least they still have Moby to sample the world’s tiniest violin for them.
12 Comments »
At least they’re not throwing the Robbie Williams CDs in the landfill, like they were Atari ET cartridges…
So I guess what this is saying is that there’s not an unlimited supply?
(golf clap)
Are the Dandies still on EMI?
According to their website, they are…
The dirty picture of Zia is listed as forbidden.
DAMMIT! It worked last night.
MMmmmm…forbidden Zia…*Homer drool*
but….what are daft punk without their IT department?
crash and burn.
Amber, did you just reference Johnny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie in Hackers?
MAYBE
you wanna make something of it?
I just wanted to make sure i was loving you for a valid reason, is all.
; )
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Comment by tyler — January 16, 2008 @ 7:06 pm
Well, I have to give credit where credit is due. EMI appears to be the first label to declare what we’ve all known for years: that their current business model in unsustainable. Couple this with the news that they are likely to stop funding the RIAA, watch these guys be the ones who lead the way to the new frontier (many years behind the indies, but still….).