More bad press for EMI generated by the artist community. Following negative comments about the London based major from former EMI signed artists Radiohead and Paul McCartney, now the manager of one of their biggest current artists - Robbie Williams - has indicated they may look to end their relationship with the record company once their current contractual commitments are done and dusted. And that should be pretty soon because the fourth album of Williams' current four album deal with the major - a second swing album aimed to appeal to the mainstream Robbie fan who was perhaps not so keen on last album 'Rudebox' - is due out in February. A greatest hits album will then follow, before the singer's recording commitments to the major are done.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the co-boss of the company that manages Williams, ie:music's Tim Clark, said: "I would be very wary about signing him to any major label at the moment". Confirming that "all options" were open once their current deal with EMI was complete, Clark added "The internet offers artists opportunities without the need for record labels. What we really don't want is the dead hand of multinational [record companies] throttling these brilliant opportunities".
It's pretty unprecedented for three high profile artists to lay into their record company quite so soon one after the other, though it would be unfair to conclude that the comments made by Radiohead, McCartney and now Williams (albeit him by proxy) are a sign of an artist rebellion against new EMI owners Terra Firma.
True, Radiohead's recent criticism of EMI seems to be aimed very much at the major's new owners. However McCartney was criticising practices at the major pre the arrival of the new top guard, while Clark's recent comments on the artist/label relationship are consistent with what he has been saying for years - and indeed was saying even at the time Williams' last EMI deal was signed. That is that as digital distribution of music becomes the norm artists rely less on the global CD distribution networks that major record companies offer, and therefore become a less integral partner in global recording ventures - especially for those major artists who can secure initial funding from other sources like brand sponsors or venture capital types.
All the recent comments from Radiohead, McCartney and Williams/Clark really stem not from Terra Firma's arrival at EMI but from the power shift currently going on in the music industry between record labels and artists/management. To be fair to Terra Firma chief Guy Hands, his comments since arriving at EMI seem to suggest he recognises that shift more than most and is determined to introduce radical changes at the company to cope with it. Whether those changes will be successful, of course, remains to be seen.