EMI to raise 6m for new charity
British recording company EMI plans to raise 6m for the new music charity it will launch as part of its centenary celebrations.
EMI group chairman Sir Colin Southgate announced that The Music Sound Foundation would be the cornerstone of the company’s centenary programme. The aim of the charity is to help young people take up a career in music.
EMI revealed a number of projects, all of which will donate a percentage of profits to the charity.
Major projects include an added- value series of 12 classic CDs that will involve extra tracks. There will also be a centenary vinyl series re-issuing 20 famous LPs on vinyl format.
Tina Turner’s Private Dancer and Queen’s Night at the Opera will feature in the CD project, while Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon and The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks will lead the vinyl series.
The company will also have a summer sale of much of its full-price catalogue, as well as a range of further re-issues, classical and pop concerts, and travelling exhibitions.
The patrons of the foundation are The Beatles’ producer Sir George Martin, classical conductor Sir Simon Rattle and pop singer Sir Cliff Richard.
The charity plans to accept applications in the autumn and to give out its first awards early next year.
