Gatfield quote about EMI

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It was an interesting experience but not one I'd want to repeat. You had a private equity group and on top of that, people with 'fast moving consumer goods' type backgrounds trying to manage the business as if it was a production line of inanimate products. Taking someone out of Procter & Gamble and putting them in a music company—it's just an uncomfortable fit... Your 'product' is human beings who have opinions. I remember someone at Terra Firma asking why the [release date for the] Gorillaz album had slipped. I said 'Well, you know, Damon [Albarn]'s not ready,' and he said 'But it's on the release schedule.'… Terra Firma didn't like the dark arts of A&R. A lot of it is done by gut instinct. I will give Guy a huge amount of credit because I think some of his instincts were fairly sound, [but] the business to him was far more complex than he thought it would be. You're dealing with the psychology of running a creative business." —Sony Music U.K. chief Nick Gatfield on his experience at EMI, interviewed in the Guardian. (12/20a)