EMI plans corporate sponsorships for albums

As if selling naming rights weren't insidious enough, EMI plans to offer brands the chance to sponsor new releases by the label's acts, including Coldplay and Kylie Minogue, NME.com reports.

The gambit is, of course, an attempt to boost revenue at a time when albums sales are plummeting, which puts the record industry in arguably worse straits than the newspaper business. In fact, EMI is expected to announce some 2,000 layoffs today.

It's unclear what form the sponsorships will take — "Best Buy Presents 'Prospekt' by Coldplay?" "Ford Celebrates 45 Years of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'?" — but it's a safe bet that offering sponsorships is a great way to alienate the artists lingering on the company's roster. Radiohead's decision to first release "In Rainbows" on its own is looking smarter and smarter.