The boss of EMI UK and current chairman of UK record industry trade body BPI, Tony Wadsworth, has been appointed as a Visiting Professor at Newcastle University, where the record label chief himself studied back in the seventies. The appointment will see Wadsworth visit the university several times each academic year to give lectures and tutorials on the music business.
Confirming his new part time academic role, Wadsworth told reporters: "A sound educational background is essential in our increasingly complex and challenging business. The market is undergoing a fundamental shift at present thanks to the digital revolution and I am looking forward to engaging with students on how the music industry is embracing change and experimenting with new business models".
David Clarke, Professor Of Music in the university's School Of Arts And Cultures added: "Tony's appointment builds upon the existing culture of enterprise in the School, which has developed both through the students' own enterprise activities around their bands and other performance, and through our Music Business degree programme module. It is a great compliment to the reputation of music education at Newcastle University that an individual with such a high profile within the music industry is so interested in our activities".