EMI yesterday announced that former Warner chief Roger Ames has been appointed as head of EMI Music North America.
There had been speculation that Ames, who has been a senior level consultant to the major since March 2005, would take a full time senior role at EMI ever since that axing of EMI Music heads Alain Levy and David Munns at the start of the year. Munns had overseen the major's US business as part of his Vice-chairman role, with overall EMI chief Eric Nicoli filling in on an interim basis since Munns' sudden departure.
Ames will report to Nicoli in his new job, and will oversee all of the major's US divisions, with the heads of the company's North American labels reporting to the new chief, including the recently expanded Capitol Music Group (which now includes Virgin US), whose chief Jason Flom previously worked with Ames at Warner. Those divisions which have, since Munn's departure, been reporting to EMI North America's COO Ivan Gavin will also now report to Ames, because Gavin is to leave the major and, according to Billboard, is not expected to be replaced.
Ames ran Warner, pretty damn successfully by all accounts, before its acquisition by Edgar Bronfman Jnr in 2004. He was quickly sidelined after the takeover, staying on in a consulting role before formally quitting the major six months later. While running Warner he was involved in EMI Warner merger talks that got very close to completion, but which fell foul of EC competition regulators, who were concerned about further consolidation in the music industry (the same regulators who then went on to approve the SonyBMG merger, of course).
Ames' appointment means that Nicoli's top team is now in place - with Ames overseeing the US and Canada, Tony Wadsworth overseeing the major's native territory, the UK, and JF Cecillon heading up the recently created International division, which includes continental Europe, Asia and Latin America.