EMI Group
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Profile
Headquarters: London, England
Chief Executive Officer: Eric Nicoli
Corporation Type: Public Corporation (LSE: EMI)
EMI Music Group Website: http://www.emimusic.co.uk/
Start Date: March 1931
Close Date: September 28th, 2012
With roots dating back to the early 20th Century, The EMI Group is the oldest of the "Big Four" major labels and is currently comprised of eleven international labels. Following the 1925 merger of the Columbia Gramophone Company in the US and the Columbia Graphophone Company in the UK and a controlling interest of German-based Parlophone in 1927, the corporation became known as Electric & Musical Industries in 1931. That same year, EMI was forced to break-up its conglomerate under American anti-trust laws. For the next two decades, EMI acted as the distributor for its former American partner, Columbia Records as well as licensee for US-based RCA Records under their HMV UK imprint. Between Columbia's 1952 decision to self-market its releases internationally and the establishment of RCA's London offices in 1957, EMI had acquired Hollywood based Capitol Records in 1955. The merger of Capitol and EMI gave both labels a combined, trans-Atlantic distribution network and roster made up of both British and American artists. The 1960s saw the establishment of Stateside as the distributing label for Tamla Motown, and the launch of their progressive label, Harvest, in 1969. Electric & Musical Industries changed its name to EMI in 1971, phased out its Columbia imprint in 1972. Throughout the 1970s, the cash-rich EMI obtained numerous publishing companies and established EMI Music Publishing in 1974. At the close of the decade the catalogs of American labels United Artists Records, Liberty Records and Blue Note Records were added to the group and a merger with Thorn Electrical Industries led to the formation of Thorn EMI. The 1990s saw EMI take full ownership of Chrysalis (the prior 50% having been acquired a year earlier in 1989) and the purchase of the independent Virgin Music Group in 1992. On August 16, 1996, Thorn EMI shareholders voted in favor of de-merger proposals. The resulting media company has since been known by the name EMI Group. Following a failed take-over bid of the Warner Music Group in 2006 and EMI's rejection of a buy-out offer from WMG, the group fell under the control of private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners, which acquired EMI Group's holdings for $5 billion in the Autumn of 2007.
In 2011, it was announced EMI would sell its recorded music operations to Universal Music Group and its music publishing operations to Sony/ATV Music Publishing. The deal was finalized in 2012 under the condition that Universal Music Group sell 60% of EMI's businesses in Europe, which included the sale of the successful Parlophone Label Group to Warner Music Group for $765 million. The deal split the EMI Group apart, resulting in its demise.
Structure
- Angel Music Group
- Blue Note Label Group
- Capitol Music Group
- Caroline Distribution
- EMI Christian Music Group
- EMI Labels