New bidder for EMI
mainThere were five envelopes in the Citigroup mailbox by Wednesday, but there’s word now of a late run by James Caparro, a former Universal Music and Warner flak who has been whiling away his days in distribution.
Caparro’s firm is Yamani Global Equities, and he’s backed by Alliance Warburg Capital Management. In a press release, Caparro said: “This is the first step in the execution of our turnaround plan to guide EMI’s assets through the integration of our five prong revenue model that will lead the company into providing consumers and customers with music and entertainment services utilising 21st century technologies”.
Wassat? He’s even more convoluted than the last rack of EMI suits. Imagine what Sir Thomas Beecham would have made of that load of verbiage.
The end of EMI is near – being dismembered for greater profit? This is just in from Reuters:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/12/uk-emi-sale-idUKTRE79B7XY20111012
Beecham may have shook his baton at the verbiage, but good strategic thinking is what the industry needs, not more of the same. Meeting the real needs of customers, and doing so with new technology that lets us cheaply take our music with us, and share our passion with friends, could be a good thing. Certainly better than keeping their heads in the sand and suing customers left, right and center (sorry, centre).
As a music lover, the “five prong revenue model” has me a bit worried (sounds painful!), but I will gladly pay for music I love, delivered to me in a way that is good value and convenient, and that rewards the artists fairly.
I wish Caparro and his team the best of luck, if they can bring fresh thinking into the mix.