Departing EMI exec takes shot at Hands

DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER: In the Financial Times’ coverage of Guy Hands’ save (see I.B. Bad’s story, posted this morning), longtime U.K. A&R exec Chris Briggs, who’s about to jump ship for Sony Music, said we was making the move partly because EMI's culture had changed under Hands's ownership. Said Briggs: "Some of the uncertainties have made it harder to sign new artists, because of the amount of publicity Guy and Terra Firma get with regard to the debt and trying to raise this money." He added that he disagreed with the decision to let Joe Cocker and Crowded House (the latter now with Fantasy/Concord), two acts he had worked with, leave EMI. (5/13a)