Music Wire: EMI to pimp the Beatles and others via iTunes. Where is Roger Ames?

-SHOMARI HINES EMI and Apple has announced a deal many saw coming. iTunes has the green light to sell music from the record company without copy protection software blah blah blah. We will care about EMI news when some real news start coming out of that camp, like the coming of Roger Ames and the outing of Eric Nicoli, not necessarily in that order. EMI said almost all of its catalog, excluding music by The Beatles, is included in the deal.Singles and albums free from copy-protection software and with a higher sound quality will be offered as a premium product, the companies announced at a London news conference. The announcement follows calls by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs earlier this year for the world's four major record companies, including EMI, to start selling songs online without copy-protection software.The software, known as DRM, is designed to combat piracy by preventing unauthorized copying, but can make downloading music difficult for consumers. EMI to allow Apple to sell songs online [AP]

Music Wire: OK but what about the other Roger?

-Shomari Hines EMI has named a new CEO for its publishing unit in Roger Faxon. The appointment comes after former CEO Martin Bandier exited the company after 17 big ones. This is all good and dandy, but we're still waiting for the appointment of another Roger. Roger Ames's name has been coming up from time to time as the future head of all of EMI but the rumor has been running thin lately. Anyway in usual corporate lingo, current EMI chief Eric Nicoli thinks that this Roger is the "Ideal person" to lead EMI to the next stage, whatever that may be. "Roger is the ideal person to lead the next stage of EMI Music Publishing's development with his strategic insight, his digital prowess, his passion for and knowledge of music publishing and his vision for the company," EMI Group Chief Executive Eric Nicoli said in a statement. Faxon confirmed as EMI Music Publishing chief [Reuters]

Music Wire: EMI Shake up could signal comeback of Roger Ames

Q1 2007 seems to be filled with shake ups at media and entertainment companies. The latest shake up comes unexpectedly out of EMI the major record label which has been through three failed merger attempts with rival Warner Music. The company's music chief Alain Levy and his deputy David Munns has been shown the door by company Chairman Eric Nicoli, under pressure from his board to put fire back into the company. Firing its two heads of music opens up a huge door for someone else to come in and attempt to turn things around and already all eyes are on former Warner Music Group head Roger Ames who is currently a consultant for the company and has been out of site since being pushed out of Warner after it was acquired by private investors. If Ames is indeed the man, this could be one of the music industry's biggest comeback since Clive Davis who got canned as head of Arista only to come back to run the whole show. Then again Ames isn't the only respected music exec with time on his hands these days. Former Sony Label Group CEO Donnie Ienner could also be considered for the EMI gig. The sudden move, expected to be announced today, follows a series of setbacks at EMI, including a string of failed merger negotiations with a rival, the Warner Music Group, and the poor sales performance of the pop star Janet Jackson. The ouster of Mr. Levy comes about five years after he was recruited to bolster the performance of the company, which ranks last in sales in the United States among the four major music conglomerates. EMI’s share of total sales in the American market dipped last year to 10.2 percent, from about 10.4 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Revamping of EMI Begins With Management Shake-Up [NYT] -Shomari Hines