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EMI Music Information
EMI Music Group
One of the 'Big Four' major record labels, the EMI Music Group is based in Brook Green in London, England and operates in 25 other countries. It counts EMI Music Publishing, one of the 'Big Five' music publishing companies, and the Capitol, Blue Note, Parlophone, Chrysalis and Virgin record labels amongst its many assets.
The roots of EMI can be traced back to 1897 and the London-based Gramophone Company. It was this company that at the turn of the century bought "His Master's Voice", Francis Barraud's painting of a dog and a gramophone horn, one of the most iconic images in the history of popular music, and one which lives on today in the EMI subsidiary HMV.
In March 1931 the Gramophone Company became Electric and Musical Industries Ltd (EMI) after merging with the UK Columbia Gramophone Company. In November of the same year EMI opened the world-renowned Abbey Road Studios in the St John's Wood area of London.
In 1957, EMI entered the American market by purchasing a controlling 96% stake in Capitol Records, a move necessitated by the recent severing of long-established licensing arrangements with RCA Victor and Columbia Records.
During the 1950s, 60s and early 70s the company established itself as the most widely known and successful recording company in the world- a status in part due to contemporary signees the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, the Byrds and, in the biggest coup of them all, the Beatles, who signed to Parlophone in 1962, one of EMI's subsidiary labels.
In 1971 Electric & Musical Industries changed its name to EMI Ltd and in 1973 the subsidiary Gramophone Company became EMI Records Ltd. In 1972, EMI replaced the Columbia and HMV pop music labels with the EMI record label. As the decade drew to a close, EMI acquired United Artists Records, before merging with Britain's largest television and radio manufacturer, THORN Electrical Industries Ltd., thereby forming Thorn EMI.
In 1991 Thorn EMI completed the takeover of Chrysalis Records and then the following year bought out Richard Branson's Virgin Records.
On August 16, 1996, Thorn EMI shareholders voted in favour of demerger proposals. The resulting media company has since been known by the name EMI Group PLC. Four years later EMI and Time Warner announced they were to merge, before the plans were vetoed by European anti-trust laws.
The increasing dominance of Universal and Sony in the 'Big Four' bundle provoked rumours of another merger attempt between the WMG and EMI. The rumours proved founded when 2006 saw not only EMI offer a buy-out of WMG but Warner propose a takeover of EMI. Both offers were nevertheless rejected by their respective boards.
Haydn Mullineux, 2006
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Interviews with A&Rs at EMI Music
Interview - Jaime Feldman, rock A&R representative at EMI/Capitol in Los Angeles - Mar 15, 2004
"An artist who doesn’t have a web site has lost me."
Jaime Feldman is a rock A&R representative at EMI/Capitol in Los Angeles and the A&R for Bonnie Raitt (US multi-platinum).
Here he discusses Capitol’s focus as far as artists are concerned, what the process of finding and working with artists involves, why it’s hard to get airplay, and more.
How did you get started in the music business and how did you become an A&R?
I was an intern at several major labels whilst I was college and I was in the marketing department at our college radio station. I also wrote music reviews for the college paper.
I graduated with a Degree in Business, and I wound up as an assistant to Arthur Spivak at Spivak Entertainment, where I dealt with the music market on a day-to-day basis. I worked for them for four years and, by the end of my time there, I was doing marketing, promotion and setting up all of their tours, as well as being the day-to-day manager of Tori Amos and Collective Soul.
From that job, I springboarded into a position in which I dealt with promotion independently. I was hired by artists or their national promoters to help put concerts on the market by setting up the radio advertising and all the other aspects of getting tickets sold. I worked on several tours, from the Dixie Chicks and Nine Inch Nails to Mariah Carey.
After that, I wasn’t particularly active for a while. One night, I ran into Andrew Slater (president of Capitol – Ed.), whom I knew from when I worked in management, and I told him that I was looking for a new direction. He took me on as an assistant and after about two months he noticed that, not only did I have a good ear, I could also figure out what was worth pursuing for the label. I had talent that he thought would best be used in A&R.
What experiences have helped develop your skills as an A&R?
My background in management is incredibly valuable. Four years of day-to-day management, of dealing with all the departments at major record labels teaches you how to plan the development of an artist and his or her record.
When I became an A&R rep myself, I knew exactly what needed to be done, what format to go to radio with, how to roll out sales programs, and so on. My background had given me an understanding of the process that needs to take place at a major label to support an act’s success.
What is unique about Capitol’s approach?
We know what our strengths are and there aren’t any limitations as far as format is concerned. We do things a little bit differently and you could say that Capitol is the biggest independent label out there. We release less records than major record labels, about twenty-five to thirty per year, although that doesn’t mean that our scope is limited; the spectrum of music that we offer is as wide as that of other majors.
As president, Andy’s focus has not necessarily been to just go for the flavour of the month but rather to look for artists who will last, who will release more than two records and who will be perceived by people as icons and true expressions of art and musical ability. If you look at our roster, nothing is disposable because they are all true artists.
We don’t sign anything that we don’t think will last and that may have been the key to our success. In an industry whose scope is shrinking every day, for us, more than ever, it’s about artistic integrity and musical expression. That’s the right way to go, because it’s going to win out.
What acts are you currently working on?
I have a band called Borialis whose record is coming out in March. I’m also the A&R rep for Bonnie Raitt. In addition to that I’m in charge of international acquisitions for Capitol US from other EMI sources.
That basically means that I help evaluate what releases from EMI companies in other territories are suitable for release here in the US. Other than that, I fill in on projects for which I’m not necessarily responsible as A&R.
Do you focus on any particular styles of music?
I’m primarily into the rock genre, but I also have great respect for and an ability to help channel hip-hop and r&b. I like to think of myself as a guy on the rock staff who is capable of building bridges from rock to other genres. Still, seventy-five to eighty percent of what I do is alternative rock.
How do you find new talent?
... to read the continuation of this article, click here.
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Interview - Dan Keeling, A&R representative for Coldplay - Jul 1, 2003
“If a band are brilliant but they haven't yet got a fan base or sold a single record, you sign them anyway.”
Dan Keeling is the A&R representative for Coldplay (UK and US platinum). He is based in London and works for EMI/Parlophone. He also performs A&R duties for the rock band Athlete and the alternative pop band Alfie, among others.
How did you get started in the music business and how did you become an A&R?
I used to put on clubs in Manchester whilst at college, and I had always wanted to do A&R, so I started ringing up everyone in A&R in London. I didn't know anyone, but in the end someone at Island Records called Darcus Beese introduced me to who would eventually become my first boss at A&M Records, where I stayed for one and a half years. When A&M merged back into Universal, I got a job at EMI/Parlophone with Miles Leonard, who runs the department I currently work in.
What experiences have contributed significantly to the development of your A&R skills?
Working with good people counts for a lot, and at EMI we've got some really good people: the chairman, Tony Wadsworth; the president, Keith Wozencroft, who signed Radiohead and Supergrass; and Miles, who signed The Verve and Kylie Minogue. If you watch people, you can model how they act in different situations and you can learn how to work with artists. Of course, you need to have a basic, instinctive understanding of music and artists to be able to relate to them, but a lot of it is down to who you work with and within what culture. Every record label has a different culture, and I like ours. I don't know if I could work at lots of different labels.
What types of artists and styles are you primarily looking for?
It could be anything, just great artists really, artists who say something different in whatever genre. I'd love to sign someone like Kate Bush, the Chemical Brothers or Soul II Soul, although obviously hip-hop and r&b aren't as big in England as in the US, even if the American urban artists are very popular here.
What new acts are you currently working on?
I haven't signed anything this year, so I haven't really got any new acts. We also release acts on a sub-label called Regal, which is for more experimental or leftfield artists that might need more time to develop. Then there's another label called New Religion, which is very electronic and also limits its releases to around 1,000 copies. Alfie are the newest band I’ve signed; they used to be on Badly Drawn Boy’s label in Manchester and we picked them up after they left.
How did you first learn about Coldplay?
Through Caroline Elleray, a music publisher and a friend of mine. She told me about them quite early on and later signed the band's publishing. I got their first demo, but I didn’t think it was very good, and I went to see them and at the time they weren't all that impressive. But three months later I heard another demo, an EP of which they had printed 500 copies, and they had progressed so much in that short space of time that I was really shocked. So I went to see them again and knew I had to sign them, because they were so great. All their tracks were great, so we knew we were going to make a great album.
What had changed from their first demo?
The songs. They had written more and better songs and they kept getting better all the time. They had also developed their sound to become a lot more unique. It takes a while for a band to develop their own sound.
Where the songs for their first album “Parachutes” in place when you signed them?
No, they hadn’t written most of them. "Yellow" was written towards the end of their recording session. "Trouble" was written after we signed them. They had "Shiver", which became the second single and they had a few tracks on the album.
How did you find a producer for them and why did you settle for Ken Nelson?
We first did a recording session with a producer called Chris Allison and, whilst Chris is a nice guy, every producer has his own style and his own way of relating to an act and in the end there was a bit of a clash, so we decided to change. I was reading Music Week and it had a profile of Ken Nelson, whom I'd never met, funnily enough alongside one of Chris Allison, which talked about him recording with Coldplay. I started reading about Ken and I just thought that he sounded right in what he was saying, so I got in touch with his manager. I then introduced the band to a few producers and Ken was the one they got on best with and we haven't looked back. He will work on the next album too.
What was your approach to working with Coldplay?
It's an ongoing relationship. Obviously, when you sign a band like Coldplay, there's more work to be done on the first album than there will be on the third. My initial input was to guide them through what they needed to do; I talked to them about their songs, their strengths and their weaknesses, and what they could do to improve them. Basically, I was there to support them. Everybody has doubts, especially on their first album, so you need to offer advice and let the band do what they do naturally.
It's important to always be truthful. That’s the major thing about A&R: you've got to be truthful with your artists, and you can't be a yes-man.
What was instrumental in breaking them in the UK?
... to read the continuation of this article, click here.
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Interview - Matthew Rumbold, A&R at EMI - Aug 14, 2006
"One of the main things for A&R people to do is to get out of the way. If something is going well, you’re going to offer a few things, but you don’t want to get in there with the A&R sledgehammer,"
...goes Matthew Rumbold's support of artistic freedom.
Rumbold, A&R for EMI, signed Corrine Bailey Rae and took her eponymous debut album, released in March 2006, to No.1 in the UK and Top 20 in the US.
He speaks to HitQuarters about the unchanging basics - a good song and a good live performance, as well as about his long aquaintance with Corrine, breaking the US and his eye for a good artist.
How did you start out in the early days?
I started in the press department at Atlantic in the early 90s. Then I moved around a bit and started doing press again for Creation Records in 1994. So I had a grounding in the industry. Then I went away for a year to India, came back, and realized that what I really wanted to do was A&R.
I started writing reports and sending them to Heads of A&R at various labels. I ended up getting a job at Food Records in 1996, which was the home of Blur, amongst other bands. I worked there for five years and did three signings; Idlewild, Liz Horseman, Matthew Jay.
Food was a wholly owned subsidiary of EMI. After five years they ended their association. I was asked to come and work for EMI full time. I worked for Parlophone for a year and now I’m based at the EMI label.
Is it still EMI's strategy to develop ‘slow-burn’ artists who gain exposure through word-of-mouth?
Yes, that’s the best way of doing things. Developing artists as much as you can out of the public eye before the songs are ready. When you sign an artist, you hope that things like the voice and the shape of the band or the attitude of the singer are already in place, so you just need to make sure that all the songs are there.
How do you work with your A&R team?
We have four A&R people that work here. Everyone is pretty much on an even keel. We all try to cover different areas. It’s about trying to find something that you totally love and then trying to make that successful. That’s the attitude here. Just sign as few things as possible and try to make them work.
What kind of new artists are you interested in?
For the last six months I’ve been focused a lot on the Corinne Bailey Rae campaign. There hasn’t been a lot of time to look at new artists. I’m only just starting now to look at new things. I tend not to like a lot of stuff. I would offer on maybe two or three acts a year.
What styles of music do you focus on?
All sorts of things. I like Keane, the Guillemots, Corinne Bailey Rae, Bloc Party, Martha Wainwright. It’s quite a diverse thing. I love female voices. Besides Corinne Bailey Rae, I work with Beth Orton, The Divine Comedy, and Claire Sproule.
When do you see artists perform live?
I’m out at least once or twice a week. It’s important. That’s where you can make a real connection with an artist. The demos aren’t necessarily showing the full picture. You should be able to get a strong picture live.
What input do you have on the production?
Mainly advisory more than anything else. If you have an idea that someone might work well, whether it’s their personality or artistically and creatively, then you suggest that. The strongest artists are the ones that have a lot of ideas themselves.
What’s discussed in the initial meetings and how do you go about working with a new artist?
... to read the continuation of this article, click here.
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