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EMI bring recordings and publishing closer together, publishing chief Faxon to lead
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 18 June 2010
EMI this morning announced that the boss of its publishing division, Roger Faxon, will be promoted to role of Group Chief Executive, meaning that the major’s flagging recorded music company will now fall directly under his remit. EMI Music, the recordings bit, won’t have its own CEO; current Exec Chairman Charlie Allen will step back and take an advisory role.
Therefore Faxon’s promotion seems to be a sign of another radical revamp at the major which will see the company’s recordings and publishing businesses work more closely together. As record companies move from being primarily CD sellers to being primarily companies that licence sound recordings, it makes sense for record label people to work more closely with execs in their sister music publishing companies. Though none of the major music groups, who all own both record and publishing companies, have initiated any such consolidation.
In its statement this morning, EMI said Faxon’s promotion and wider remit will see the major become a ‘comprehensive rights management company’. The revamp follows the arrival of £105 million in cash from parent company Terra Firma, which has ensured the firm will not fall foul of its crippling bank loan commitments for at least a year. EMI had to put together a radical new plan to convince Terra Firma’s investors to stump up the money; this move was presumably in that plan.
Announcing the change, Terra Firma representative Stephen Alexander, who will become Chairman of the vehicle through which the equity group owns EMI, Maltby Capital, told CMU: “Having worked closely with Roger for a considerable time, I know that his leadership of the entire business will be of huge benefit to EMI’s artists, employees and investors. In particular, his appointment as Group Chief Executive will allow all EMI’s undoubted skills and resources to be implemented to maximum effect as the company continues to develop its new music, catalogue and publishing businesses”.
Faxon himself added: “I am delighted and honoured to become Group Chief Executive of EMI, and to be given the responsibility for leading one of the greatest music brands in the world. There is incredible talent and expertise within both EMI Music Publishing and EMI Music, as has been demonstrated by their recent performance. I believe that the two divisions working in concert with one another as a global rights management business, can and will deliver for the artists and songwriters that we are privileged to work with now and in the future”.
And finally Charlie Allen said: “I have really enjoyed my time at EMI, leading a team that has transformed the business over the last few years creating top line growth, share growth and profit growth as well as delivering new hits and a strong performance from our catalogue business. I’m delighted to have played a part in securing the investment in the Group by our shareholders. It gives us a firm platform for future growth. This repositioning and restructuring will benefit our artists and I’m delighted that EMI will be led by an experienced, music industry veteran. The whole EMI Group and its artists will benefit from having one Chief Executive and I look forward to supporting Roger and his colleagues”.
