Cultural ‘levelling up’ through the music corporation? The case of EMI North

On 27 January 2023 the major record label EMI, now owned by the Universal Music Group, announced the launch of ‘EMI North’, a subsidiary record label to be based at the Duke Studios co-working space in Leeds city centre. The Twitter announcement from EMI stated that “The label will be dedicated to supporting the very best local talent in the North of the UK and providing young people with opportunities to work in the music industry”, while the new president of EMI North, Clive Crawley, stated that the goal of the label was to “support local talent, helping them to find new audiences and build their businesses” (MusicWeek, 2023). At the same time, EMI announced a partnership with the Leeds-based non-profit music development organisation, Come Play With Me. Unsurprisingly, given that this is the first time a major record label has opened a physical space outside of London, the announcement, which coincides with Leeds Year of Culture in 2023, was greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm by members of the local music community and policy makers. It was widely taken as a sign of validation of Northern music scenes – as though any were needed - but further, for some a potential indicator of the beginnings of a cultural ‘levelling up’ of the North. In this commentary, I critically reflect on the response to the EMI announcement in relation to recent research on the disconnection that exists between the regional music economy of North West England and the main music industry hub in London; the degree to which EMI North might act as a ‘lead firm’ for future growth and sustainability of the Northern regional music economies; and whether it might act as much-needed catalyst for levelling up of the creative economy.