EMI Adds Nichols And Crosswaite To Global Digital Team

As part of an ongoing restructuring, Mark Nichols and Matthew Crosswaite have both been appointed to new roles as vice presidents of business development in EMI Music’s global digital team, reporting to global head of digital Barney Wragg. In their new roles, Nichols and Crosswaite will be responsible for exploiting new digital income streams and coordinating EMI’s local business development teams across the world.

Mark Nichols was formerly a  director at 3UK where he oversaw the network’s multimedia content services, managing 3’s relationship and negotiations with music companies, film studios, TV broadcasters, sports rights holders and other media outlets.

Matthew Crosswaite joins from EMI Music UK, where as vice president of commercial digital media he worked closely with all of EMI’s digital partners across mobile and online. He has worked for EMI for eleven years. (Read the press release after the jump.)

EMI MUSIC MAKES SENIOR APPOINTMENTS TO GLOBAL DIGITAL TEAM

Founding member of 3UK management team Mark Nichols, and Matthew Crosswaite from EMI UK, to focus on digital business development

London, April 23 2007 — Mark Nichols and Matthew Crosswaite have both been appointed to new roles as vice president of business development in EMI Music’s global digital team, reporting to global head of digital Barney Wragg.

In their new roles, Nichols and Crosswaite will be responsible for identifying and exploiting new digital income streams, coordinating EMI’s local business development teams across the world, and establishing and maintaining relationships with the company’s key global digital partners.

Mark Nichols was formerly director of content and partnerships at 3UK, having been one of the founding members of the management team of the pioneering 3G network company. In his role at 3, Nichols had commercial responsibility for the network’s multimedia content services, managing 3’s relationship and negotiations with music companies, film studios, TV broadcasters, sports rights holders and other media outlets.

Matthew Crosswaite joins from EMI Music UK, where as vice president of commercial digital media he worked closely with all of EMI’s digital partners across mobile and online. He has worked for EMI for eleven years, initially in national account management roles in sales, before broadening his role to focus on the commercial opportunities enabled by the growth in digital music.

Barney Wragg commented: “Both Mark and Matthew have in-depth understanding of the telecoms and online music environment, and coupled with their strong commercial backgrounds, they will play instrumental roles in ensuring that EMI is at the forefront of digital development and innovation.”

Both Nichols and Crosswaite will work within the global digital team led by Wragg. The team also includes vice president of digital Isabel Garvey, director of digital marketing Ian Whitfield, director of digital business development Tuomo Korpinen, and vice president of content protection Ruth Katz.

Mark Nichols began his career in the telecommunications industry at Cable & Wireless (then Mercury Communications) in 1990, joining as marketing manager before being promoted to a series of roles culminating as general manager of C&W’s Global Mobile division with responsibility for the company’s mobile businesses in developing countries. He joined BT Wireless as strategy manager in 1999, working with partners and management to secure the first 3G licenses, before moving to 3UK as director of sales operations in 2001. Nichols became director of 3’s pre and post-launch marketing operations in 2002, before taking the role of director of content partnerships in December 2003.

Having started his career in the retail sector, Matthew Crosswaite joined EMI in 1996 as national account manager in the UK sales team. By 2003, he had progressed to director of national accounts and digital sales, managing sales of key releases and working with management on strategy development for digital business models. In 2006, he was appointed vice president of commercial digital media, with responsibility for driving the company’s digital sales. Over the last year he has also worked as an advisor to TOEMI in Japan on digital and sales initiatives. 

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Enquiries:

Jeanne Meyer, EMI 212.786.8850

Adam Grossberg, EMI, 212.786.8855

About EMI Music
EMI Music is the recorded music division of EMI Group, the world’s largest independent music company. Its EMI Music division represents artists spanning all musical tastes and genres. Its record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Televisa Music, Manhattan, Mute, Parlophone and Virgin. Artists on EMI labels include Lily Allen, The Beatles, Coldplay, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Good The Bad & The Queen, Gorillaz, Norah Jones, The Kooks, Korn, Kylie Minogue, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Joss Stone, 30 Seconds To Mars, KT Tunstall, Keith Urban and Robbie Williams, as well as international artists such as Amaral (Spain), Diam’s (France), Utada Hikaru (Japan), LaFee (Germany), Radja (Indonesia), RBD (Mexico) and Vasco Rossi (Italy).

EMI has been at the cutting edge of the rapidly growing digital music marketplace since it released David Bowie’s ‘Hours’ as the world’s first ever album to be offered as a digital download in 1999. EMI has signed agreements with hundreds of digital partners to distribute its music across the globe.  It continues to facilitate the development of a growing range of new digital business models to enable fans to experience and purchase its artists’ output through a number of different platforms including advertising-supported online music streaming in China through Baidu, legal peer-to-peer agreements with QTrax, Mashboxx and GNAB, and a deal to offer advertising-supported videos on mobile phones in the US through Rhythm NewMedia.

For further information on EMI, please visit: www.emigroup.com.

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