LONDON - MUSIC company EMI, home to Robbie Williams and Coldplay, will cut up to 2,000 jobs as part of a restructuring being planned by its private equity boss Guy Hands, Sunday newspapers reported.

Hands plans to cut the marketing budget to 12 per cent of projected sales, from 20 per cent, but raise spending on A&R (artist and repertoire), which looks for new talent, The Sunday Telegraph said.

The Sunday Times said EMI would also ditch thousands of artists when he announces his plans on Tuesday.

EMI was taken private by Hands's Terra Firma last summer in a 2.4 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) deal.

Record companies are struggling to make up for declining CD sales and illegal downloading of music over the Internet.

Although legal downloads are growing fast, it is not enough to make up the shortfall, and artists are increasingly turning to touring, merchandise and online innovations to make money.

Mr Hands has warned artists they would be dropped if they did not work hard enough for the group and called for a 'fundamental shift' in the way the company did business. -- REUTERS