Tony Wadsworth, the widely respected head of EMI recorded music in the UK, has quit. Wadsworth had been with the company for 26 years.
Guy Hands, head of Terra Firma who took control of the ailing company last year, said "This is part of the ongoing restructuring of EMI Music". Insiders are predicting considerable blood-letting to come as Hands tries to turn the ailing company around with the loss of over 2,000 jobs already announced0.
Toby Wadsworth's job A and R responsibilities will be taken over by US regional head Roger Ames. His operational duties will be taken over by former BAA chief executive Mike Clasper, who has a global operational brief.
The company's stars are restless. Radiohead announced last month they would not be re-signing to EMI. The band released their recent album, In Rainbows, via a download and allowed fans to pay what they liked. Rather than re-signing with EMI for the conventional release that followed, they signed with independent label XL.
Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, has accused EMI's new management of acting like a "confused bull in a china shop".
"What we wanted was some control over our work and how it was used in the future by them - that seemed reasonable to us," he said. "Mr Hands was not interested. So neither were we."
Robbie Williams' manager has likened new owner Guy Hands to a "plantation owner" ; Coldplay and Gorillaz are making unhappy noises over Wadsworth's departure. Coldplay, who will this year release their fourth album of a five-album deal, could be next to consider their future. The Rolling Stones plan to release their next album independently.
Hands however is convinced he can dramatically cut costs at EMI while boosting profits with new revenue streams and remodelling its relationships with artists. Shortly after buying the company, he said EMI was a "classic example" of Terra Firma's strategy to "look for the worst businesses we can find in the most challenging sector". Terra Firma is clamping down on costs by limiting new signings and spending on marketing. It is expected to cut jobs.
Paul Williams, editor of the industry magazine Music Week, said Wadsworth's departure was a "sad loss" for the UK music industry. "Tony Wadsworth is somebody who is very, very well liked by the artist community and they see him as a decent, honest bloke. So anyone else coming in, particularly somebody from outside the music industry, has got to establish a trusting relationship and obviously that is not there at the moment."
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