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Bronfman’s coming to London, leading to yet more EMI Warner chatter
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 3 June 2009
Warner Music chiefs in the UK might have to get used to their top boss dropping in unannounced. Word has it the Bronfman family, so Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr and his wife and kids, are set to move to London and set up home in Kensington, near the major’s UK HQs. Although seemingly a decision made for personal reasons – word has it Mrs Bronfman wants her four children to experience living in a country outside the US – some wonder whether it will mean Edgar will become more involved in his company’s UK affairs, even informally.
Those who are now speculating that Bronfman has his eyes set on an EMI acquisition again are also noting the Warner chief’s new primary residence will be just round the corner from the global headquarters of the UK-based major. As previously reported, City-based gossips are speculating that EMI owners Terra Firma are disillusioned with the music company, which has proven much harder to reinvigorate than they expected, and therefore, the gossips continue to say, the equity group would be open to any acquisition that would get them out of the music space sooner than originally planned.
Bronfman has long been a fan of the idea of a combined EMI Warner that could better compete with the two major’s much bigger rivals – Sony and Universal – the latter major major having been originally created by the Bronfman instigated merger of MCA Universal and Polygram. Warner and EMI discussed merger a number of times before Terra Firma stepped in and acquired the latter, promising to reinvent the struggling major. Although quite a bit of reinvention has gone on, if Terra Firma are getting bored with their music business investment, Warner would be an obvious first port of call to discuss selling it off, despite the past regulatory difficulties that have surrounded proposals to merge the two smaller major music firms.
The Telegraph’s Amanda Edwards noted earlier this week: “EMI and Warner Music should try to find a way round their differences. It is no secret the music industry has changed. Regulation is unlikely to prove problematic this time around and the growing force of the internet means the record labels must band together to combat it. While the music industry does work together to some extent, another large player would create a much-needed force at a time when many are questioning the viability of labels”.
It should be noted that the official line is that Terra Firma remain committed to EMI, and neither sale nor merger is not being considered. Also, as mentioned, Bronfman’s plans to become London-based are not directly linked to any EMI ambitions. And anyway, the boss of Terra Firma, Guy Hands, is now officially Channel Islands based ever since the British government increased the tax obligations of the offensively rich.
