At the last week’s Web 2.0 conference, I had a detailed conversation over dinner with David Munns, the CEO of EMI North America and a grizzled music industry veteran if there ever was one. The Munns who I talked the night before was very different from the one who was up on stage the next day talking about piracy…I guess the spotlight/on-the-record aspect does something to clam up execs.
I asked him in detail about EMI’s position in the digital music industry, being the only “indie” big label, so to speak. Time and again he emphasized the artist relations aspect of his role at the company, and the company itself, and that as the continuing thread even in the digital age.
I asked him about the discussions and agreements music labels have had with YouTube…EMI has been a holdout, but Munns said they should come to an agreement soon. The company has been very careful in the talks, because once this is hashed out, it will probably become the template for deals with other video and content sharing sites. He also mentioned in passing that the deals that other labels have done with YouTube are not what everyone thinks they are, though he did not elaborate on it.
I also asked him the eternal question: when will Beatles catalog be available through online music stores? He said with a particular twinkle in his eye: soon. Again, no more details.
In that A&R role, Munns mentioned that most of the artists have been very vocal to him about piracy and how to market and sell music online and on mobiles. When I asked him about why we don’t get to hear about such issues directly from the artists (except some exceptions) he said that’s the role of the label, to be the voice of the artists, and let them do what they do best: music.
He also explained in some details about the evolving nature of label contracts with artists, and mentioned the extended rights deal, where the artist career is managed almost akin to how a startup would be managed in the technology/software world, and labels acts like VCs…there’s a lot more to it, but I need to understand it better before I talk about it more.
I asked him about whether EMI would consider acquisitions of startups and he did say: absolutely, though it would have to be a pureplay in the music business, or something that will help in distribution.
On the margins in the business, I asked him whether online was better than mobile, or vice versa…he had an honest answer: it is tough to say, because of all the people involved in the value chain on both ends. He did say it is probably more difficult to deal with mobile operators than it is to deal with online music service providers.
Then there was the controversial issue of variable pricing and Apple’s role in it…on that he refused any comments on the record, so that’s how it will be for now.
The music category is sponsored by Javien.
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