Parlophone Protest

PARLOPHONING IT IN: With veteran EMI exec David Kassler taking over the “Hold Separate Manager” reigns at Parlophone (see Rumor Mill item below) before it transitions to new ownership, some of the affected artists are threatening to withhold their releases rather than go quietly to the highest bidder in the auction mandated by the EU’s approval of the UMG-EMI merger. Blur drummer Dave Rowntree complained to the Independent that “Artists are the only people currently being left out of the conversation, which is unfortunate. If the staff at the label are unhappy with the new arrangements, they are free to leave, but the artists are not.” (10/2a)