The Times Online has an article today on the restructuring plan EMI will announce tomorrow. About 2,000 jobs are expected to be cut in an effort to reduce marketing expenses. Other highlights from the article: the company will be split into two groups (creative and back office) and a new incentive scheme will be based on profits. Take a look at the article for the details.

I'm practically in awe that EMI is taking the step to base incentives on sales and profits rather than shipments. It makes so much sense and would have been standard in any other industry in the world, but somehow music companies put the focus on shipments. In the digital era, shipments equal sales, so there's no issue. But on the physical side, basing goals on shipments too often puts the focus on the wrong part of the supply chain. Sometimes sell-through takes a back seat to loading up retailers and distributors. From my years in sales, I learned that goals based on shipments too often lead to excess product sent to accounts only to be returned after it gathered dust. The only winner is UPS.