Here is the full text of the leaked Capital EMI memo on the departure of Capital Records head Lee Trick and the temporary replacement, Ian Ralfini, GM of Blue Note Label Group's Manhattan Records who will head only marketing.
Organization Announcement:
EMI Music North America Marketing
Lee Trink will be stepping down from his position as President of Capitol Music Group at the end of June. He will be working closely with the company to ensure a smooth transition. Since first joining EMI as GM and EVP of Virgin Records in 2006, and during his time at Capitol, Lee has been instrumental in building upon careers for artists and breaking emerging talent. We would like to thank him for his contribution to EMI and want to wish him well in his future pursuits.
Ian Ralfini, GM of Blue Note Label Group's Manhattan Records, has agreed....
to work with existing senior management and marketing staff to manage our marketing function in the interim. Ian will report to Sam van der Feltz, President, EMI Music Global Marketing. We want to thank him for lending his experience to take on this additional role as we endeavor to provide world class marketing services to EMI's artists.
Ian, who joined EMI in 2001 to re-launch the Manhattan label along with legendary producer Arif Marden, has been a guiding force behind some of the biggest selling musical acts of all time. As President of Warner/Elektra/Atlantic (WEA) in the UK, he worked closely with Neil
Young, The Grateful Dead, Jimmy Buffett, The Rolling Stones, Yes and Led Zeppelin. While at WEA, he signed Fleetwood Mac, and Rod Stewart and The Faces. He later became owner of US label Shelter, whose roster included Tom Petty, Phoebe Snow and Leon Russell. For several years, he worked as an executive under Atlantic Records' Ahmet Ertegun. During
his tenure at Manhattan Records, Ian has been an instrumental part of Sarah Brightman's success (she is the world's biggest selling soprano, with 23 million units sold). Ian also oversaw the incredibly successful Celtic Woman campaign, (3 million-plus units sold in the US alone), based on a 360-degree approach including a global tour and a strategic
relationship with PBS.
We have been conducting a search for the head of the EMI Music North America marketing function and we expect to make a further announcement about this in due course.
Regards,
Sam van der Feltz, President, EMI Music Global Marketing
Colin Finkelstein, President, EMI Music North America
