The NZ Herald's John Drinnan reports that EMI NZ boss Chris Caddick has been let go, and their staff has been cut from 18 to 9. (link) Excerpted below, read the full article at the link. Simon Grigg also wrote a very good post on the changes at EMI NZ, read it here.
MUSIC GURU'S DEPARTURE HITS BUM NOTE
Global music giant EMI Music has dampened New Zealand Music Month by pulling the plug on a top talent spotter and champion of local music, Chris Caddick.
The departure marks the downgrading of the Auckland business from a fully serviced EMI outpost of 18 people last year to a sales operation of around nine, music industry sources say...
... Caddick and EMI had set sights on becoming the major multinational in the New Zealand market. New Zealand musicians signed or licensed to EMI include Salmonella Dub, Hollie Smith, Golden Horse and Opshop. The moves are part of the crisis at EMI under new management and the ongoing unravelling of the global music industry due to illegal downloads.
The business model is shot. So loss of the managing director of signing acts in this tiny and isolated market will be hardly noticed inside EMI. The company refused to comment, as did Caddick.
Media hype up New Zealand music success overseas but, like other industries, New Zealand is becoming a branch office of Sydney. It is expected EMI will become a sales office and signing talent will be controlled from Australia. Sony BMG still has a New Zealand office but it too is focused on Sydney. Universal Music is the most active multinational in this market but some believe it will eventually revert to a marketing role....
... The issue creates big challenges for New Zealand On Air, which is obliged by law to promote New Zealand culture and identity and pumps money into companies to make records - including generous subsidies paid to multinationals like EMI.
Increasingly the state-owned funder is looking like the artist and repertoire man cajoling distant record executives with cash incentives.
While parts of the music scene live off grants, industry folk believe it is time to stop dressing up subsidies as a culture associated with Music-Month festivities and start treating them for what they are - a commercial industry subsidy."
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