Thorn-EMI 1995 Annual Report

EMI
a repeat
performance
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EMI Music achieved record results for the seventh consecutive year, as sales climbed to
f2,189.0m and operating profit before operating exceptional items rose by 19.8 per cent to
f294.9m. Return on sales excluding the impact of Toshiba-EMI increased to 14.6 per cent.
Thirty albums had sales ofmore than 1 million units,led by superstars Garth Brooks,The
Beatles,The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Roxette, Bob Seger, Frank Sinatra,Yumi Matsutoya
and the Beastie Boys. EMI's impressive results also reflected substantially increased catalogue
sales; the company's growing pre-eminence as a music publisher; and the unprecedented
success ofthe company's promotional partnership with McDonald's.
EMI Record5 Group North Ameri(a
EMI Records Group North America enjoyed its best year ever in both sales and profits.
Garth Brooks "The Hits" topped the US Billboard Album chart for eight weeks and sold
"Llve at the BBC" by The
Beatles and "The Dlvlilon
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moae than one mlllion unltt
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6.6 million copies worldwide. Releases from a wide range ofestablished artists - including
Grammy-winner Bonnie Raitt, the Beastie Boys,The Beatles, Megadeth, Qreensrj;che, Frank
Sinatra,Jon Secada and Bob Seger- all performed strongly.In addition, North America had
success with emerging artists including Mazzy Star,Joshua Kadison and Luscious Jackson. Capitol
Records, EMI Latin, Angel and EMI Canada each had record years. EMI's partnership with
McDonald's produced sales of 8.9 million units while raising almost $10m for Ronald McDonald
Children's Charities.The promotion stood out as an innovative vehicle to utilise the wide reach
ofpopular music to raise charitable funds and helped achieve great exposure for an array ofEMl
artists: superstars Garth Brooks, Tina TUrner, and Roxette; a group of EMI's hottest Latin stars;
and Us3, who were featured in a hip-hop compilation.
Virgin Muslc Group
Virgin Music continued to perform exceptionally well, Grammy-winners The Rolling Stones
*Voodoo Lounge", the group's first album forVirgin, sold more than 4.5 million units worldwide,