Stones Deny Report They Will Leave EMI for Live Nation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2008 - 9:35am.

London - A representative for the Rolling Stones has denied a report in the U.K.'s Observer over the weekend that the band will end its 30-year relationship with major label EMI and sign a new deal with concert promotion giant Live Nation (NYSE: LYV), Reuters reported. "We are not in talks with Live Nation in connection with any record deal," band spokesman Bernard Doherty said in a statement.

The Observer, which cited unnamed sources, said the Stones' prospective deal with Live Nation would include the rights to market the band's back catalog, which generates a reported $5.9 million a year.

EMI has also recently lost big-name artists Paul McCartney, who released his recent record on Starbucks' record label, and Radiohead, which offered its latest album online in a pay-what-you-want scenario.

For its part, Live Nation has signed multi-million dollar deals with the likes of Madonna and Jay-Z to lure them away from longstanding partnerships with major labels.

The New York Times also reported that Guy Hands, the new head of EMI following his private equity firm Terra Firma's buyout of the label 10 months ago, has not endeared himself to artists or improved morale at the company, which plans to lay off up to 2,000 of its 5,500 employees.

The article also quotes Hands as saying EMI was worse off than previously thought, having lost about $1.5 billion on sales of new music over the past five years.

"They were doing everything they could to hide the fact that they were losing huge amounts of money in new music," Hands told The Times.

"The good news was they were making a fortune in catalog."