Are the Stones rolling away from their longtime label?
Despite a 16-year relationship with Virgin/EMI, the Rolling Stones signed a one-album deal with Universal to release Shine a Light, the soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese concert film due in April.
With the band's EMI contract set to expire this year, the move may be a precursor for Mick & Co. to join Paul McCartney and Radiohead in exodus from the once powerhouse music company.
Should the Stones change companies, the World's Greatest Rock Band would take with them a catalog of 14 studio albums dating back to 1971's Sticky Fingers. Universal already owns the group's 1963-1970 catalog.
However, the iconic rockers might follow the lead of Madonna and consider signing with Artist Nation, the new music company by concert giant Live Nation (which won two Billboard Touring awards for producing the Stones' A Bigger Bang tour).
Or, the Stones might simply be using the uncertainty to get a better deal from EMI.
The London-based label, which entertained a merger with Universal a decade ago, has struggled in recent years after decades of success. The company currently has the lowest market share among the big four music groups, and last year its share slipped into single-digits at just over 9 percent.
By comparison, Universal, the biggest of all, controled 32 percent of the pie, followed by Sony/BMG (25 percent) and Warner Music (20 percent).
EMI rejected a $4.8 billion merger bid by Warner Music last year but wound up falling to a similarly priced takeover by London-based Terra Firma Capital Partners, whose other investments include pubs, theaters and cinemas.
Paul McCartney, whose Beatles catalog is one of EMI's most valuable assets, left the company last March ahead of the takeover and signed with Starbucks' Hear Music label. After the Terra Firma deal, Radiohead decided not to reup with EMI, later saying they didn't want to be "simply part of their stock."
There have been reports suggesting that Coldplay might follow Radiohead's lead after fulfilling its contract with a greatest hits album in 2009. Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams, who are immensely popular in the U.K., also expressed interest in jettisoning EMI.
While EMI tries to retain its top artists, several of its employees were shown the door this week. Terra Firma boss Guy Hands, whose business experience is considerably vaster than his music industry experience, announced plans this week to cut 2,000 of the company's 5,500 staff worldwide.
One employee he won't have to cut, however, is former U.K. chief executive Tony Wadsworth, who resigned last week. During his quarter-century tenure at EMI, Wadsworth signed many of the company's top acts.
EMI's 77-year history includes works by the Beatles, the Stones, Queen, Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, the Spice Girls and other international sensations. But the label struggled to break a new superstar act in recent years. Hands' plan includes cutting staff and artists and focusing more on A&R development and addressing the digital market. Hands will also strive for more Stateside success with his British stars.
The question remains, when Hands finishes reshaping EMI into a new model, how many of his top artists will remain?
As far as the Rolling Stones go, he might want to queue up one of their chestnuts: "It's All Over Now."