EMI was once home to some of the biggest names in pop, the crown jewels of British music from the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Queen, to Coldplay, Kate Bush and Radiohead, and surfing the wave of Brit Pop in the 1990s.

As a new millennium dawns, internet piracy and file sharing capsize the entire record industry. EMI is sold to a city Mogul named Guy Hands. Better known for turning around German motorway toilets than running a record label, his arrival triggers an all out war between the forces of money and art, as the one of London’s feistiest financiers struggles to save Britain’s coolest company.

Host: Chris Atkins

Producer: Max Bower

Assistant Producer: Mohamed Ahmed

Editor: Jo Wheeler

Researcher: Zeyana Yussuf

Additional production and story development: Sonny Marr

Sound design and Mix by Daniel Kempson.

Original music by Vincent Watts

Production Managers: Cheree Houston, Charlotte Wolf, Sarah Tobin

Executive Producers: Ian Neil, Max O’Brien & Craig Strachan

Produced by Novel in Association with Cart Before Horse & BBC Studios, the BBC's commercial subsidiary.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.