EMI to Outsource U.K. Distribution

EMI Music is shuttering its distribution network in the U.K. and will start using worldwide transport and storage company Ceva to handle its CDs and DVDs, it announced Wednesday. Staffers at EMI's operation in Leamington Spa, 100 miles northwest of London, are now in a consultation about the cuts, although the company says the switch to Ceva will not take place before early next year.

EMI first partnered with Ceva to provide warehousing and distribution services in Spain and Portugal nearly five years ago. The relationship has since expanded to cover Germany, Switzerland and Austria.