Hands Cuts Bands: Is the new CEO Guy Hands (pictured) cutting off his right hand by trimming its roster of 14,000 artists? The Thrills has been dropped from EMI due to the new structuring of the record label.

The Thrills fall into the 85% of EMI artists who don’t make money from the label. The NY Post says the Dublin band’s three studio albums and one live release have sold just 182k copies, its latest, ‘Teenager’ has sold 6,400 copies to date despite great reviews in Rolling Stone and The Wall Street Journal.

Of course this may be case of a critically acclaimed indie band not connecting with a larger audience. Although managers complain that even when artists do show signs of connecting with the public, there is a lack of funding for marketing and touring support to help power a breakthrough.

Some say Hands restructuring plan has some near term financial merit but could end up hurting EMI when it comes to cutting artists. EMI has focused on gaining market share in the U.S. but after 7 years has failed to gain any ground on its rivals. The good news is that Guy Hands realizes he needs people to find artists, therefore he wants to stress greater focus on A&R and shrink middle manage. New artists and A&R is the lifeblood for any record label.

Here Comes The Rain Again: Former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox has been released from her record label Sony BMG. She says: They totally ignored me,” says a jilted Lennox. “It was bizarre. It was a kick in the teeth. They didn’t return my phone calls or emails for three weeks. I’m trying to find out what’s behind it. Probably a good thing I’m no longer with them – mild understatement.” She said that she feels like she’s spent, like she’s run out of energy. C’mon Annie, you have to be ‘in it to win it’.

Do Not Bow Down To Any Idol Or Worship It: As Odd as it seems the seventh-season premiere of Fox’s American Idol” was its lowest-rated in four years says TV Week. “Idol” received a 13.8 rating among adults 18 to 49, according to preliminary Nielsen data. Both the demographic and the total viewer figures are the lowest Tuesday night “Idol” premiere standings since 2004. Regardless of the ratings, American Idol is a good watch and most people that KOAR talked to love the show last night.

New Music and Recommended Listening: Check out experimental rock act
Man On Earth. This band is no stranger to KOAR and we have turned many of our readers onto their music. All Music Guide describes Man On Earth’s sound as “melodic, post-Britpop sensibility with sharper-edged American guitar muscle, then tops it off with thoughtful lyrics. The band is currenlty finishing their new album “Mass Produced Popular Opinion” with a big producer and mixer Ken Lewis whose credits include 6 Grammy’s, 38 Gold and Platinum albums. Listen to the tracks Here We Are and It Feels Good. For more information email Nathan