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EMI seeks second-half revival
UK label giant says revenues likely dipped 3 percent, but hopes releases from Robbie Williams, Norah Jones, and Joss Stone, and a new Beatles mashup album, will stem the tide.
UK label giant EMI said today that its first-half revenues will likely be down from last year, but that it's hoping to make up for the dip with second-half releases from the likes of Robbie Williams, Norah Jones, Keith Urban, Tina Turner, Joss Stone, and Moby, as well as a new Beatles mashup album.
Robbie Williams
EMI, the world's third-largest music company, said that its first-half revenue would dip by 3 percent from its 924.6 million pounds ($1.7 billion) in sales for the same period last year. EMI said its profit for its fiscal year's first half--from April through September 30--would be about £27 million ($50.3 million), down about one-third from the same period a year ago, which featured blockbuster releases from Coldplay, Gorillaz, and the Rolling Stones.
The announcement came as no surprise to industry analysts, as EMI had previously said it was moving the bulk of its major releases to the second half of its fiscal year. The first half saw new releases from Janet Jackson, Bob Seger, and newcomer Lily Allen.
"The planned artist releases, continued growth in digital revenues and delivery of the announced cost savings, are expected to drive strong growth in underlying revenues and profits in the second half of the year," the company said in a statement.
EMI continued to emphasize the strength of its digital sales, saying that digital would represent approximately 9 percent of total revenues, slightly lower than the 11 percent that digital sales comprise of worldwide music sales, according to the IFPI global industry group. IFPI said that digital music sales in the industry more than doubled in the first half of the year to $945 million.
EMI stayed mum on the prospects of the widely anticipated merger with Warner Music Group. The companies both made multiple takeover bids for one another earlier this year, only to have them rebuffed and eventually torpedoed by in July by a European Union court ruling to void the 2004 Sony BMG merger.
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