EMI upbeat about future

EMI sounded a more hopeful note about trading prospects today as the music group said efforts to contain piracy were starting to have an impact.

The company, which has Norah Jones, Robbie Williams and Coldplay on its roster of artists, expects a better performance from the music market this year.

The comments came as London-based EMI announced a 2.5% fall in annual turnover to £2.12bn (€3.2bn) and said underlying profits fell 8.7% to £163.3m (€243.9m).

Despite the decline, EMI said it had been encouraged by the rapid growth in revenues from new sources such as downloads and mobile phone ring-tones.

It said that piracy continued to be a major headache for the industry, although efforts to contain the problem, including through a series of lawsuits, were having a “positive impact”.

EMI chairman Eric Nicoli, who has overseen a period of major restructuring at the company in the last two years, said notable results from artists such as Norah Jones had boosted the performance over the last year.

He added: “For the first time in several years, there are encouraging signs of market improvement, particularly in the United States, the world’s largest music market.”