EMI Urges Music Acts To Work Harder

EMI’s new owner has revealed that some of the music group’s artists are not working hard enough.

Guy Hands, the head of private equity firm Terra Firma - who bought EMI in August for £2.4 billon – also said that the label would be more selective in the future.

Hands’ comments appeared in a private memo which was leaked to the Financial Times and included his future aspirations for the company.

"Some [artists] unfortunately simply focus on negotiating for the maximum advance,” explained Hands. "Advances which are often never repaid."

Like other labels in the music industry, advances are paid to artists regardless of the success of their releases, reports the BBC.

Hands also said that in the future it would "be open to us [EMI] to choose which artists we wish to work with and promote."

Hands wasn’t specific about which artists had forced him to launch plans to reorganise the company although he did add that "many spend huge amounts of time working with their label to promote, perfect and endorse their music."

EMI is home to search artists as Coldplay and the Beatles.