Robbie Williams is set to quit his record label EMI.
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The Angels singer signed a four album deal worth a staggering UKP80 million with the company in 2002, but is planning on leaving them when he completes his final studio album next year.
His manager Tim Clark said: “I would be very wary about signing him to any major label at the moment.”
Clark refused to comment on Robbie’s current contract but said “all options” were open once he has fulfilled his obligations. Since 2002, Robbie – who is one of the label’s biggest-selling artists – has released three albums, Escapology, Intensive Care and Rudebox, and the fourth, Let’s Swing Again, is due to come out in February 2008.
If Robbie does leave, he will be following in the footsteps of Sir Paul McCartney and Radiohead, who both walked out on EMI this year.
After quitting, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke said: “When you’re in a situation like this with shareholders and private equity firms, it looks at music as something to buy and sell on, that it’s inorganic, that it’s something that can be valued and devalued.
“Companies buying and selling themselves and seeing the artists work as simply part of their stock is devaluing music – if anybody’s responsible for devaluing music, it’s them.”
McCartney branded the label “boring”, and claimed he left because he was becoming part of the “furniture”.
