EMI Announces New Head Of Music Division
New York, NY (July 8, 2008) – Spotted on the AP Newswire late yesterday:
…EMI Group has recruited an executive from a household products company to head its recorded music division, whose artists include The Rolling Stones and Norah Jones, as its new private equity owner continues to reach outside the music world for management talent.
EMI said Monday the new music unit chief executive is Elio Leoni-Sceti, 42, who was executive vice president of Reckitt Benckiser, maker of skin care product Clearasil, French’s mustard, Nurofen pain reliever and other products. At EMI his product lines will also include Lily Allen, The Beatles and Coldplay.
"Having completed the organizational restructuring at the end of June and finalized our strategic work, Elio joins at the right time to shape, drive and lead EMI to become the world’s most artist-focused and consumer-friendly music company," said Guy Hands, head of Terra Firma Capital Partners, which bought EMI for 2.4 billion pounds ($4.8 billion) last year.
Something tells me that EMI is onto something. Most of the industry seems to think it’s more likely they’re ON something, but I’m inclined to think/hope they’re thinking about the future. Their roster has some great artists on it, past and present, and with brand experts at the helm, there’s no reason to think that they won’t steer the ship in the right direction.
The worry, of course, is that these incoming suits “don’t know music.” Perhaps. But I think Hands knows what he’s doing, and is banking on their outside perspective to inject some new life into an industry struggling to adjust to the new marketplace. Hopefully, they let the A&R department do their thing, and have an integrated marketing/thinktank space where objectives are outlined and then executed with various input, specifically tailored to the artist. That will prove to be EMI’s Achilles heel if everything goes to hell, but it could also prove to be their cash cow if they get it right. Thoughts?