Federico Nobili EMI Group PLC
GROUP PLC
FEDERICO NOBILI
History of EMI
▪ In 1897 Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone, co-founded the UK Gramophone Company in London
▪ In 1931 the merger between the Gramophone Company and Columbia Records formed the Electric and
Music Industries Ltd
▪ In 1955 EMI entered the American market acquiring Capitol Records, the leading American record label
▪ In 1971 the company changed its name in EMI Ltd
▪ In 1980 EMI merged with Thorn Electrical Industries Ltd, to form Thorn EMI
▪ In 1992 Thorn EMI acquired Virgin Music Group (most expensive acquisition in record music history)
▪ In 1996 Thorn EMI decided to demerge. The new media company is known as EMI Group PLC
▪ In 2006 EMI tried to buy Warner Music Group, but the bid was rejected.
EMI is considered one of the four majors, with Warner Music Group,
Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group.
Company Structure
The company is organized in 2 divisions:
• EMI Music = the recorded-music side, it seeks new promising artists, markets the recordings to
the public and sells the releases through a variety of retails.
– New and old recordings constituting 30-35% of division’s unit sales
• EMI Music Publishing = it acquires the right to exploit the songs (identified songwriters with
commercial potential and assisted them in marketing their works).
This division recognizes and sells 4 categories of royalties (mechanical, performance, synchronization and other)
– it generates ¼ of the total group revenue and it has positive operating profits
EMI’s model: expand the catalogues, have the top-selling artists and songwriters
Music Industry Overview
From the 1990s the music industry faced the rise of internet and MP3 file format, that could be easily downloaded and stored.
– peer-to-peer file-sharing internet services
In 1999 Napster emerged and facilitated the exchange of music files (20 mln users by July 2000)
– even if Napster was forced to remove copyrighted materials, the peer-to-peer file
FEDERICO NOBILI
History of EMI
▪ In 1897 Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone, co-founded the UK Gramophone Company in London
▪ In 1931 the merger between the Gramophone Company and Columbia Records formed the Electric and
Music Industries Ltd
▪ In 1955 EMI entered the American market acquiring Capitol Records, the leading American record label
▪ In 1971 the company changed its name in EMI Ltd
▪ In 1980 EMI merged with Thorn Electrical Industries Ltd, to form Thorn EMI
▪ In 1992 Thorn EMI acquired Virgin Music Group (most expensive acquisition in record music history)
▪ In 1996 Thorn EMI decided to demerge. The new media company is known as EMI Group PLC
▪ In 2006 EMI tried to buy Warner Music Group, but the bid was rejected.
EMI is considered one of the four majors, with Warner Music Group,
Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group.
Company Structure
The company is organized in 2 divisions:
• EMI Music = the recorded-music side, it seeks new promising artists, markets the recordings to
the public and sells the releases through a variety of retails.
– New and old recordings constituting 30-35% of division’s unit sales
• EMI Music Publishing = it acquires the right to exploit the songs (identified songwriters with
commercial potential and assisted them in marketing their works).
This division recognizes and sells 4 categories of royalties (mechanical, performance, synchronization and other)
– it generates ¼ of the total group revenue and it has positive operating profits
EMI’s model: expand the catalogues, have the top-selling artists and songwriters
Music Industry Overview
From the 1990s the music industry faced the rise of internet and MP3 file format, that could be easily downloaded and stored.
– peer-to-peer file-sharing internet services
In 1999 Napster emerged and facilitated the exchange of music files (20 mln users by July 2000)
– even if Napster was forced to remove copyrighted materials, the peer-to-peer file