One of the all-new EMI's most interesting Terra-Firma-era exec appointments has proven to be short-lived.
Former Google exec Douglas Merrill was put in place to head up the struggling major's digital division after it was bought by private equity firm Terra Firma. But less than a year after joining the record company, Merrill is to leave and his digital unit is to be closed down. EMI say that digital is now such an important part of what they do that digital operations are being integrated with other music distribution operations across the company, rather than them being in a stand-alone department.
Merrill's departure has led to the promotion of Cory Ondrejka, the Second Life co-founder who joined EMI shortly after Merrill. He'll become Exec VP Of Digital Marketing.
Commenting on the exec changes, EMI Music CEO Elio Leoni-Sceti told CMU: "Cory is a highly talented executive with a passion for music and a unique technology-based skillset. He will help us deliver our goal of leveraging the power of digital across our business, particularly in the key areas of consumer understanding and analytics, content creation and digital marketing in order to strengthen the relationship and interaction between our artists and their fans. I would like to thank Douglas for his contribution to the company and to wish him well for the future".
I'm not sure what we should read into Merrill's departure. He had, after all, been appointed at COO of EMI's new music division in addition to his digital unit role, so the closing of that latter unit doesn't seem like a completely satisfactory explanation of his sudden exit. Perhaps as a former Google man, he realised it is ingrained in his very being to hate all music business people, and everything they stand for, the money-grabbing, business-model-destroying bastards.