Should UK Gov’t Save EMI? Dubber Thinks So.
Music industry consultant and big thinker Andrew Dubber has been watching EMI struggle against huge debt and looming deadlines. Instead of just watching the venerable label group fall apart or into the hands of bankers, he's suggesting nationalization.
"…the parallels between Lehman boss Richard Fuld trying to do last minute deals at any cost 18 months ago…and the current EMI situation are striking to say the least," write Dubber on his personal blog. "EMI needs to find £150m by next week in order to stop Citigroup taking control. But the choices are not simply bankruptcy or collusion. There’s a third way. EMI could be nationalized."
"There’s an opportunity to step in and preserve a large slice of the nation’s popular music culture, regulate the industry to prevent the outrageous excess, and ensure that the company acts in the interest of the public, rather than the (utterly failed) profiteering motives of its corporate shareholders," he continues.
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Bring it on!
If Canada can push through things like CANCON then why the hell can’t the UK help the cultural growth of this country by sorting out EMI? After all its only £150m. If they could utilize the back catalogue and harness technology to help digital music then nationalization could have its money back in less than 2 years…
Just a thought from a Pro Sound Maniac 🙂
Bad idea. There’s nothing inherently wrong with private industry owning the rights to music. “Profiteering motives” are what brought all that cherished music to the public in the first place. And besides, it’s all going to be in the public domain eventually. There may need to be an initiative to digitize and therefore make public lost/hidden recordings, but the government need not get involved.
One other thing: EMI owns a lot of rights to American music, not just British music.
That might be the worst idea I’ve ever heard. It would be like nationalizing a typewriter company in 1989.
Exactly!
EMI did not adapt its structure to the 2010 music business reality. The value that were adding to the music industry was huge in the past. It is now getting smaller and smaller.
Is a structure like EMI ready for adding value in the future?
There is in my opinion a clear distinction between preserving a nation’s popular music, and preserving the company behind it.