Photo: andrew_stawarz on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
You might think that digitally inclined staff would be the safest during the efficiency overhaul at the new venture capital-owned EMI, but EMI Music has confirmed that Barney Wragg, worldwide head of digital, has left the company over restructuring plans.
Mark Hodgkinson, currently executive vice president of global marketing, will be taking over the role.
While not made redundant as part of the job cuts announced this week, Wragg is thought to have been unhappy about reorganisation plans which would see him lined up for more hands-on implementation rather than focusing on strategy.
Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show, Wragg spoke about the rights-free format he pioneered at EMI and said that album sales had actually been revitalised by DRM-free, countering the industry's concern about the trend for consumers to 'cherry-pick' only the best songs.
Wragg has been high profile and influential in his short tenure at EMI, a regular on the conference circuit and a perceptive digital strategist. When appointed in 2006, EMI stated he would be responsible for global digital strategy and for spearheading best digital practice across the company.
