The Times of London reports that Robbie Williams is angry with the private equity firm Terra Firma that has taken over his record company EMI, and his manager Tim Clark is suggesting the singer could withhold a new album unless things change. “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. “We have no idea how EMI will market and promote the album. They do not have anyone in the digital sphere capable of doing the job required. All we know is they are going to decimate their staff.”
Clark complained that the financier was acting like a “plantation owner” who had stumbled into the record industry via a “vanity purchase”. As for what the label could do at this point, Clark said, “EMI can sue or pay up his contract. Robbie needs to know what services EMI can provide to an artist of his standing.” Also unhappy with the current situation at EMI is another sales titan Coldplay.