BMG axes 60% of artists

GERMANY'S BMG, the music arm of media giant Bertelsmann - is to shed 60% of its domestic artists as it presses on with a planned merger with Sony.

As hearings begin in Brussels about the legality of such a link, BMG announced a 'fundamental cultural change'. Spokesman Oliver Fahlbusch said that, with record companies' sales down a fifth since 2000, BMG has to change the way it does business.

'The company doesn't want any more one-hit wonders,' said an insider.

Last year, 85% of new releases by BMG Germany's national artists sold fewer than 25,000. The new strategy is to concentrate on a few 'career artists', or newcomers with potential for more than one big seller.

Although BMG Germany's 2003 results have not been published, they are thought to be weak.

BMG is not the only big player trying to get a grip on the industry's financial situation by clearing its house of poorer-selling artists, but its plan is the most far reaching. Independent labels say BMG's actions will result in fewer artists being represented in record stores.

They are also critical of the planned merger between BMG and Sony.

Yesterday, the pair went before the EU's anti-trust commission to try to get approval for a fusion that would create the world's second-largest music company.