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Brian Southall
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The Rise & Fall of EMI Records Hardcover – Illustrated, September 1, 2009

by Brian Southall (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 46 ratings
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Electric and Music Industries Ltd (EMI) first saw the light of day in the UK in 1931. In a visionary move for the gramophone age, it manufactured both hardware (recording and playback equipment) and software (the records and tapes its machines would play). For over half a century, EMI dominated both sectors, it's music division eventually becoming the most successful in the world with a roster that at various times included The Beatles, Maria Callas, Frank Sinatra, Cliff Richard, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, Queen, Robbie Williams, The Spice Girls, Kate Bush and Kylie Minogue.


Then in the 1990s, things started to go wrong...


This is the continuing saga of Britain's greatest music company as it faces an uncertain future under new ownership. Since 2009 EMI has broken new acts and sold millions of records BUT the massive debts incurred by its owners Terra Firma have finally taken it to the brink of a break-up. Music industry experts and executives, financiers and commentators plus artists' managers assess EMI's fortunes as the company celebrates its 80th birthday.


Includes interviews with many key players including former EMI Group/EMI Music executives Sir Colin Southgate, Jim Fifield, Eric Nicoli, Tony Wadsworth, David Munns, Rupert Perry, Ray Cooper and Jon Webster. Brian Southall also interviewed many managers, music journalists, financial analysists and rival record company executives.

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  1. Print length
    278 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Omnibus Pr & Schirmer Trade Books
  4. Publication date
    September 1, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    184772244X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1847722447
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Omnibus Pr & Schirmer Trade Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2009
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Illustrated
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 184772244X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1847722447
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #11,009,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 46 ratings

About the author

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Brian Southall

Brian Southall

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Brian Southall worked as a journalist with Music Business Weekly, Melody Maker and Disc before joining A&M Records. He moved to EMI Records and EMI Music, where, during a 15 year career, he served in press, promotion, marketing, artist development and corporate communications. From 1989 he was a consultant to Warner Music International, HMV Group and both the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the International Federation of the phonographic Industry (IFPI). Among other books, he has written are the official history of Abbey Road Studios and the Story of Northern Songs, both published by Omnibus Press.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
46 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

  • billrosenblatt
    2.0 out of 5 stars A tedious slog
    Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    An account of the decline of EMI by a one-time insider who has since written several better books. This one is a tedious slog. After you get past the interesting first part about EMI's illustrious history, the book reads like an extremely long Financial Times article. It's a relentless series of; episode; quotes from then-current executives about episode, quotes from industry analysts and other industry figures about episode; effects of episode on EMI's earnings and share price. There is a story to be told here, but the story is drained of color and buried under a heap of financial-journalism sludge. The context in which the story takes place -- massive upheaval in the music industry due to technological change -- is also buried where it should feature prominently. If you really want to read a financial history of the modern music business, read the somewhat superior
    Download: How Digital Destroyed the Record Business by Phil Hardy, a music industry financial journalist whom this book quotes often.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Music Fan
    2.0 out of 5 stars boring-----doesn't really tell the great stories of the US operation under Charles Koppleman etc
    Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2016
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    boring-----doesn't really tell the great stories of the US operation under Charles Koppleman etc. poorly written.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Tom Dupree
    1.0 out of 5 stars Stultifying
    Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2021
    Format: Kindle
    It's potentially an interesting subject, which is why I bought it. But it is completely composed of "inside baseball" minutiae which couldn't possibly interest anyone outside music-business employees, and the writing is dull and lifeless. It's like reading an annual report. The best chapter is the first, on EMI's history. From there it is actually a difficult slog to finish, and it's a relief when you finally do.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Luigi Facotti
    1.0 out of 5 stars Of no social or historical interest.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2018
    Format: Paperback
    One of the most boring books I have ever read. The fall of EMI, which took place in the tectonic upheaval in the music industry that followed the decline in CD sales and the shift to digital streaming sources, deserves a better muse than Mr. Southall even given his insider status as an ex-employee of EMI. Mind numbing page after page (259 of them) of boring detail and detailed quotes from the financial press, e.g., on a 2p shift in the share price price of EMI or the comments of 22 music insiders on the demerger of EMI from Thorn EMI in 1996 are just way over the top. Simon Napier-Bell does a far more interesting job in 8 pages in his 2015 breezy history of pop music "Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom De-Ay "
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Demitri Coryton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Decline and fall of a great institution
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2013
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This book may be called the Rise and Fall of EMI Records but it is really about the decline and fall of a once great British company. There is no one better than Brian Southall to write it. He was Global Publicity Director for EMI Music Worldwide for many years until he became a victim of the internecine strife that did the company no favours. EMI and its predecessor companies (mainly HMV and Columbia, but also continental European labels like Parlophone, Odeon and Pathe) had a proud history going back over a century. Its glory days ran from the late 1950s to the late 1960s when it totally dominated the British record market. It claimed to be the greatest recording organisation in the world, and it was. It had 25% of the world record market. It was led by visionaries like Sir Joseph Lockwood and the legendary Len Wood. Things started to go wrong when Sir John Reid took over as chairman. He was a very gifted man but with the wrong vision for EMI. It bought up a lot of companies outside music that were in fields it did not know much about. And there was the scientific triumph but financial disaster of the EMI body scanner that, with the perennial poor performance of Capital Records in America, nearly finished EMI off. It was bought by Thorn and later demerged into a stand alone music company. Southall charts the trials and tribulations of this important music company right up to its purchase by the venture capitalist Guy Hands and his Terra Firma company. Hands had little idea how to run a record company and a catalogue of errors drove EMI to destruction. While the book was published before EMI collapsed, this is still a book worth having that tells almost the whole story. Brian Southall is a gifted writer who was there at the centre for much of the time he chronicles, and he knew pretty well everyone at EMI for its last few decades. The destruction of EMI is about the biggest tragedy to hit the British record industry, none of whose major players now are British. This book does better than any other in explaining why, and how this disaster happened.
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  • Nicholas Ronai
    5.0 out of 5 stars A very sad story
    Reviewed in Germany on April 30, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Brian Southall was a former director of EMI Records and his book is sad story of how a once proud record company was virtually ruined by businessmen with no idea how to run a record company. The book is very thorough in describing the complicated negotiations over a number of years which resulted in EMI becoming a shadow of its former self. Unfortunately, it is an example of what can happen when long-term development is sacrificed for short-term gain!
    Report
  • onthebeach
    5.0 out of 5 stars a sorry tale well told
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2012
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Brian Southall's update of his 2009 edition enables key participants and former leading EMI management to look back on the Terra Firma/Citibank ownership of what was once the "World's Greatest Recording Organisation". From the outside it looked as though Terra Firma's unconventional approach to artist/artist manager relations and A&R investment was probably doomed to failure, and Southall documents very well the revisionist views of some of those who had to implement the Terra Firm strategy.
    The book is an exhaustive, well researched history of the UK's leading music company from its beginnings, its Fifties/Sixties/Seventies heyday through its decline and fall. Southall seems to have had access to almost all the major players and he deserves credit for documenting the fluctuating fortunes of the company in such comprehensive detail.
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  • Apollo 11
    2.0 out of 5 stars Avoid!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2011
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    A dreadful book; nothing short of a puff-piece, commissioned by EMI to suggest it has life still on its corporate bones. And not one which should be marketed as a 'story of' - because it isn't. The book has a very brief history of the company to kick-off (mere pages), before it descends into a PR-spun analysis of why EMI is such a fantastic company. One which only handles 2005 onwards.

    Avoid.
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  • Scott
    5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 26, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The book chronicles the fascinating journey of one of the most influential music companies in history. From its early dominance in both recording technology and artist management to its eventual struggles in the digital age, the book provides a detailed account of EMI’s successes and missteps. Southall explores how the company shaped the careers of legendary artists like The Beatles, while also delving into the financial and strategic decisions that led to its decline.
    I found it to be an insightful read.
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