The WSJ and FT are reporting that a major shakeup is underway at EMI and that the departure of senior execs Alain Levy and David Munns will be announced Friday morning “in a drastic bid to restructure the faltering record company.” Levy is chairman and CEO of EMI Music; Munns is vice chairman. According to the FT, the announcement is part of a broader restructuring that could include hundreds of layoffs. A profit warning is expected as well. No comment yet from EMI. More to come.
FT (sub req.): “Friday’s expected profit warning comes at a time when record companies are struggling to replace a rapid decline in CD sales, once record companies’ most lucrative format, with legal legitimate downloads.”
This could be Eric Nicoli’s last chance. The FT reports being told by one source that he escaped this time because Levy and Munns “had more direct operational responsibility for EMI’s shortcomings” than did Nicoli. One of EMI’s most successful albums in a rough year was the legal mashup of Beatles’ songs “Love.” Now EMI needs to remix itself.
Bob Lefsetz: “This is an historic day.  In partnership with this past week’s seventeen plus percentage point SoundScan drop, it’s clear the old guard, playing by the old rules, cannot continue. And it’s not only Levy and Munns.  It’s Doug Morris.  And Jimmy Iovine.  Universal is not immune.  They’ve just got a bit more leverage and a benevolent corporate parent. The music business soon will not look the same.”
Related:
—Industry Moves: Tom Ryan, SVP, Digital & Mobile, To Leave EMI In Jan
—Conversations With David Munns, CEO, EMI North America