New Chairman Guy Hands, whose Terra Firma private equity recently bought the company, announced a major restructuring of EMI Group, cutting 2,000 employees from the staff of the giant record company. The new structure is supposed to focus on maximizing revenues from existing artists – it seems catalog sales are quite profitable and Hands is looking at new income streams from digital media – and to sign some promising new ones.
“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. 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,” said Hands in announcing the changes. In all, the restructuring is expected to same up to 200 million pounds per year, or 393 million US bucks.
