The Wall Street Journal-20080118-Rolling Stones Might Say Goodbye To EMI
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Rolling Stones Might Say Goodbye To EMI
In what is shaping up to be the latest vote of no confidence from a marquee act, EMI Group Ltd. is in danger of losing the Rolling Stones, along with more than 35 years' worth of their albums, when the group's current contract with the London-based music company expires in March, according to people familiar with the situation.
A person close to the Stones, led by singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, said the band members are considering their options after their current recording-and-distribution deal with EMI expires in March. The band has been talking to other record labels and other potential partners, according to people in the music business. The band could still decide to stay with EMI and has until about May to make up its mind.
If the Stones leave, their departure would be only the latest in a string of high-profile defections. Under EMI's previous management the company lost the rights to release new albums by Paul McCartney and Radiohead. Since private-equity owner Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. last summer bought the company for GBP 3.2 billion ($6.28 billion) and ousted the previous management, the pushback from the artist community has grown. Pop singer Robbie Williams's manager has told the British press his client is considering leaving the label.
The status of Coldplay, perhaps the biggest act left on EMI, may also be in question. People close to EMI had been counting on the band to deliver its still-untitled fourth album in time for release in the first half of this year. But manager Dave Holmes says the band is still working on the album and hasn't set a delivery date.
The Stones have worked closely for many years with Michael Cohl, the concert promoter who recently engineered Live Nation Inc.'s 10-year, $120 million deal to promote tours and distribute albums by pop singer Madonna. Such a deal for the Stones could be far richer than her pact. That is because the Madonna deal doesn't give Live Nation rights to any of her previous albums, only to future ones, and the Stones are a much bigger draw on the road. Mr. Cohl couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
The loss of the Stones could be more damaging than any of the others: Unlike most record contracts, the Stones' deal with EMI lets the band take all its albums since 1970. The albums in the portion of the Stones catalog currently distributed by EMI -- from 1971's "Sticky Fingers" through 2005's "A Bigger Bang" -- last year sold 395,000 copies in the U.S. alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The band's '60s output, including enduring sellers such as "Let It Bleed" and "Beggars Banquet," is distributed by Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group.
"The Rolling Stones have not left EMI," a spokeswoman for the company said. "We will not comment on our artists' contracts."
The band has already agreed to let Universal distribute the soundtrack to "Shine a Light," a concert film being directed by Martin Scorsese. That album is due in April. But the deal is a one-off, and people close to the situation say the band hasn't made a broader commitment to Universal, either for new albums or for their catalog.
Recordings aren't a central part of the Stones' business machine. They make up only about 5% of the Stones' revenue, according to estimates by people in the music industry. But they are still central to the band's efforts to market lucrative tours, which are consistently among the highest-grossing world-wide. The Stones'"Bigger Bang" tour, from 2005 to 2007, took in over $558 million in gross revenues, according to Billboard, a trade magazine.
