EMI hands 14m media to Starcom

EMI Records has handed its consolidated £14m UK media planning and buying account to Starcom following a five-way pitch that also included incumbents Carat and Media Campaign. The7stars and MindShare were the other two agencies that pitched for the business.

Carat and Media Campaign have held the account since 1997. Carat was responsible for TV, posters and cinema for the record label, while Media Campaign carried out press and radio. The7stars was thought to be the frontrunner to win the business, after former Carat media director Gareth Jones, who used to manage the account, joined the start-up as a partner in January.

EMI, which counts David Bowie, Robbie Williams and Coldplay among its artists, began a European market-by-market review earlier this year.