British based EMI Group reported to the Associated Press on Monday that the company has recruited Rome-native Elio Leoni-Sceti, a former vice president of household products company Reckitt Benckiser, to lead up its recorded music division. Guy Hands, the CEO of Terra Firma (the private equity firm that bought EMI last September) also reported that he will back away from leadership "to become non-executive chairman of EMI." According to the AP, Leoni-Sceti was formerly a "brand manager at Procter & Gamble before moving to Reckitt Benckiser in 1992" and eventually moving up to lead the European division of the company by 2005.

Last month, leaders for EMI's North American branches, including Capitol Records president Lee Trink, left the company due to Terra Firma's preference for no presidents over the label branches in EMI. In the meantime, representatives and leaders for the music company's Artists and Repertoire divisions were given greater leverage and more power over the running of the labels, even though the plan left artists without the traditional representation that label presidents had provided. This news came on the edge of Coldplay releasing Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, with many rumors pointing to that album as a savior of sorts for EMI in 2008.

Since then, Coldplay's album has scored huge around the globe but EMI has fallen to only holding 9% of the music market in the first half of 2008. Guy Hands told the AP that Leoni-Sceti "joins [EMI] at the right time to shape, drive and lead EMI to become the world's most artist-focused and consumer-friendly music company." The new executive may fulfill Hands hopes with his background in brand managing and household products, marketing music in new ways and attracting a larger consumer base.

Industrial progressive rock band Nine Inch Nails' most recent album The Slip will be available in physical formats on July 22, Billboard reported Wednesday. First reported on May 5, the album is the band's third album in a little over a year and the second since leaving music company Universal Music Group. Unlike other physical releases though, a CD version will be limited to 200,000 copies in the United States, Canada and Japan, while a later vinyl version will be unlimited. Band leader Trent Reznor also told Billboard the album "will remain free to download 'indefinitely' from the band's site."

The availability of a vinyl copy of The Slip versus that of the CD version mirrors similar sentiments that I commented about yesterday. Music company EMI packaged the vinyl version of Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends with a CD version, indicating that despite vinyl's allure, the industry is aware that listeners want versions that can be transferred to portable devices.

NIN leader Trent Reznor was obviously aware of this desire from his fans, since the album will feature an unlimited release for the vinyl version. It could also indicate his own preference, which would not be surprising. Either way, when The Slip is released physically, consumers and listeners will still have the option to download the album for free if they decide to buy a physical copy, whether it's the limited CD or the unlimited vinyl. Numerous formats may seem tedious, but if the experience is part of the joy of listening to music then it is being accommodated.