“Change is good” seems to be the ongoing mantra at EMI, which is hiring former BAA CEO (yes, an airports boss) and music producer Billy Mann to its investor board. Guy Hands of new owner Terra Firma has not been shy to throw babies out with bath water in the march to “embrace digitalisation”, but in September decided to hang on to the recorded music division. In today’s announcement of the hirings, Hands emphasised the music – noting “EMI employees and artists”.
The investor board is already stacked with Hands, Lord Birt, Chris Roling, Ashley Unwin, Mark Hodgkinson, Riaz Punja and Phil Burns and is “looking at all aspects of EMI and its business to determine the best way the group should move forward to capture the opportunities available to it in the rapidly-changing music industry”.
– Japan: EMI has started a brand channel on the Japanese version of YouTube. It’s the first time a record label has tapped the video sharing site’s commercial channels feature, Billboard says. EMI became the fourth major to allow YouTubers to use its songs in their videos with a deal in June.