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ABOUT THE EMI GROUP

The EMI Group (LSE: EMI) is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music which operates several labels, based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom, and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York. EMI Music is one of the Big Four record companies, making it among the largest in the world.

History of the Company

The Electric and Musical Industries Ltd formed in March 1931 from a merger of the UK Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company. From its beginning, the company was involved in both the manufacture of recording and playback equipment and the provision of music to play on its machines.

Entrée to Music

Early in its life, the company established subsidiary operations in a number of other countries in the British Commonwealth, including India, Australia and New Zealand. EMI's Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries dominated the popular music industry in those countries from the 1920s until the 1960s, when other locally-owned labels (such as Festival Records) began to challenge EMI's market near monopoly in those regions.

In 1931, the year the company was formed, it opened the legendary recording studios at Abbey Road, London. During the 1930s and 1940s, its roster of artists included Arturo Toscanini, Sir Edward Elgar, and Otto Klemperer, among many others. During this time EMI appointed its first A&R managers. These included George Martin, who later brought The Beatles into the EMI fold.

In 1957, to replace the loss of its long-established licensing arrangements with RCA Victor and Columbia Records (Columbia USA cut its ties with EMI in 1951), EMI entered the American market by acquiring 96% of the stock of Capitol Records. From 1960 to 1995 their HQ, "EMI House" was at 20 Manchester Square. The stairwell is on the cover of the Beatles "Please Please Me" album.

Its classical artists were largely limited to the prestigious British orchestras, such as the Philharmonia Orchestra. During the LP era very few U.S. orchestras had EMI as their principal recording company; an exception was the Pittsburgh Symphony, particularly during the years of William Steinberg's leadership, also Carmen Dragon who conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra.

Under the management of Sir Joseph Lockwood, during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s the company enjoyed huge success in the popular music field. The groups and solo artists signed to EMI and its subsidiary labels -- including Parlophone, HMV and Columbia Graphophone and Capitol Records -- made EMI the best-known and most successful recording company in the world at that time, with a roster that included scores of major pop acts of the period including The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Hollies, Cilla Black and Pink Floyd.

By 1967 EMI converted HMV to an exclusive classical music label, shifting HMV's pop music roster to Columbia. In 1969, EMI established a new subsidiary label, Harvest Records, which signed groups in the emerging progressive rock genre, including Pink Floyd.

Electric & Musical Industries changed its name to EMI Ltd in 1971 and the subsidiary Gramophone Company became EMI Records Ltd in 1973. In 1972, EMI replaced the Columbia label with EMI Records. In February 1979, EMI Ltd. acquired United Artists Records.
In October of 1979 THORN Electrical Industries merged with EMI Ltd. to form Thorn EMI.

In 1989 Thorn EMI bought a 50% interest in Chrysalis Records, buying the outstanding 50% in 1991. In one of its highest-profile and most expensive acquisitions, Thorn EMI took over Richard Branson's Virgin Records in 1992.
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.

Since the 1930s Shanghai's Baak Doi have been under British EMI[1]. For years EMI was the dominant player in the cantopop market in Hong Kong. In 2004-2006, EMI quit the c-pop market altogether. All Hong Kong pop artists in EMI were then presented by Gold Label.

On 2nd April 2007, EMI announced it would begin releasing its music in DRM-free formats. Intially they are rolling out in superior sounding high-bitrate AAC format via Apple's iTunes Store. The tracks will cost $1.29/€1.29/£0.99. Legacy tracks with FairPlay DRM will still be available for $0.99/€0.99/£0.79 - albeit with lower quality sound and DRM restrictions still in place. Users will be able to ‘upgrade’ the EMI tracks that they have already bought for $0.30/€0.30/£0.20. Albums are available at the same price as their lower quality, DRM counterparts. Music videos from EMI will also be DRM-free. The higher-quality, DRM-free files became available worldwide on iTunes on May 30, 2007, and are expected to show up on other music download services soon.

So far none of the other major music labels have announced dropping DRM from their digital download product line.

EMI and Apple Records Legal Issues

On December 15, 2005, Apple Records, the record label representing The Beatles, launched a suit against EMI for non-payment of royalties. The suit alleges that EMI have withheld $50 million from the record label. An EMI spokesman noted that audits of record label accounts are not unusual, confirming at least two hundred such audits have been performed, but that they rarely result in legal action. A legal settlement was announced on April 12, 2007. Terms were undisclosed.

EMI and Warner Music Group

On May 5, 2006, EMI entered preliminary talks to buy Warner Music Group, (NYSE : WMG), which would reduce the world's four largest record companies (Big Four) to three; however, according to Warner's site, its board has rejected the proposal.

Warner Music Group launched a Pac-Man defense, offering to buy EMI. EMI rejected the offer. Representatives from both sides are thought to be still having meetings and deciding if one company will buy the other, however the European Commission's decision to overturn a previous decision allowing a similar merger between Sony and BMG is likely to have raised issues as to the wisdom of pursuing such a move at this time.

By most measures, a merged company of EMI and WMG would be even bigger than Sony BMG. Concerns regarding the creation of a monopoly may mean WMG will not receive approval from the European Commission. However Impala, a large independent, non-profit trade association of indie music labels, has given the Warner Music its blessings to acquire EMI, the third-largest music group. In return, it is suggested that the newly merged company will take responsibility for:

  • providing specified funding for (but taking no equity participation in) the recently announced Merlin initiative, the new global digital rights licensing platform established by the independent music labels to represent the world’s independent music sector;

  • ensuring the divestiture of certain recorded music assets to reinforce the market power of the independent sector; and

  • pursuing various other behavioral commitments which have the aim of benefiting the recorded music market as a whole and, in particular, the independent music sector.

List of Artists Signed to EMI

Popular Music Artists

Pre-1960

1960s

1970s–Present

Heavy-Metal Bands on EMI in the 1980s:

Classical Music Artists

Classical musicians exclusively or mainly associated with EMI (on EMI Classics, Angel, HMV and/or Columbia labels)

List of EMI Labels

EMI Label Groups

Angel Music Group

Capitol Music Group

Caroline Distribution

EMI Christian Music Group

EMI’s Standalone Labels

EMI Music Publishing

As well as the well-known record label the group also holds EMI Music Publishing, which is the largest music publisher in the world. As is often the case in the music industry, the publishing arm and record label are very separate businesses.
For more about The EMI Group, please the company's Web site.

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