Jan 11, 2008, 18:26 GMT
London - British pop star Robbie Williams is to boycott the new owners of his record company, EMI, in protest against planned job cuts at the firm, it was reported Friday.
10/03/2005 - Robbie Williams - 2005 MTV European Music Awards Lisbon - Arrivals - Atlantic Pavillion - Lisbon, Portugal © Rui M. Leal / Photorazzi
Williams, who has sold 70 million records for EMI, is leading a number of stars refusing to work for the company since a multi-billion takeover by equity firm, Terra Firma, the Times said.
Williams' manager Tim Clark said the star would withhold his next album, due for release in September, in his 80-million pound (160-million dollar) deal with EMI.
'The question is, 'Should Robbie deliver the new album he is due to release to EMI?' We have to say the answer is 'no',' Clark said.
Guy Hands, the new financier owner of EMI, was behaving like a 'plantation owner' who had stumbled into the record industry via a 'vanity purchase,' Clark told the Times.
Williams, 33, who is recording with the hit producer Mark Ronson, wants to follow Radiohead's example and release new music directly to fans through his website.
He was seeking control over his back catalogue from EMI, the issue that prompted Radiohead's departure, and a greater return on digital distribution of his music.
'EMI can sue or pay up his contract. Robbie needs to know what services EMI can provide to an artist of his standing,' said Clark.
According to the Times, British group Coldplay is also prepared to withdraw its labour.
Their manager said that the band was considering its options after EMI's head of music left this week, with thousands more redundancies expected.
EMI's share of the British album market, already damaged by downloading, fell from 16 per cent to 9 per cent last year when the firm made a loss of 260 million pounds.
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