By Darren Waters BBC News entertainment reporter

The Beatles signed with EMI in 1962

On the wall outside Tony Wadsworth's office at EMI Records, near Hammersmith in London, hangs a cluster of framed prints of early Beatles' album covers, each signed by the fab four.

It is a clear reminder that the history of EMI records is inextricably tied to the history of British popular music.

The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Queen, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel are all signed to EMI.

More recently Radiohead, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, The Magic Numbers and KT Tunstall have been added to the roster.

"It is inspiring for people here to know they are working for the company which signed the Beatles," says Mr Wadsworth.

He should know, having spent 22 years at EMI, working with its various labels, including Parlophone, overseeing the introduction of CDs in 1984 and signing bands such as Radiohead and Coldplay.

Pedigree of artists

"The fact that EMI is the only British owned-major record company is important but not as important as the pedigree of artists we have to look back on."

We want creative, self starters, who have a point of difference and are going to be around for a long, long time Tony Wadsworth

He says EMI's principles when it comes to signing artists is relatively unchanged in 20 years.

"We want creative, self starters, who have a point of difference and are going to be around for a long, long time."

Mr Wadsworth cites Ed Harcourt and Beverly Knight as two artists who are backed because of the music they make and not the money they generate.

Driving the point home, he adds: "For the first two albums Blur were on a downward sales curve. Modern Life is Rubbish sold 20-odd thousand. It was quite desperate.

"An accountant looking at the books would probably say it is the time to get out. We decided to stick our neck out as we believed in what they were doing."

The success of a band like Coldplay allows an Ed Harcourt to continue working.

"What this business is is portfolio management. The majority of artists on the live roster lose money," he says.

'Relationship stronger'

Mr Wadsworth says: "The relationship that exists between artists and record companies is a lot stronger and closer than the public understands.

"Investment in an artist means they have time to develop their craft and their art and if they have to work full time in a bank to pay the rent they won't have too much time to play their music."

EMI's two biggest recent signings have been Radiohead and Coldplay - both British bands who have had success in the UK and the US.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke has taken the band to conquer the US

But Mr Wadsworth said they had no idea when they signed the two bands that they would become global conquerors.

"When Radiohead were signed we felt they wrote great songs, doing something different. You don't really know where it is going to lead.

'Step change'

"The step change that band made from Pablo Honey, their first album, to OK Computer was massive. You hope that bands are going to move with that sort of progress. But you can't rely on that.

"With Coldplay we always believed in them totally but the speed and the ubiquity of their success has been a pleasant surprise.

"When you think that not too long ago they were waiting for degree results, now they are Hollywood royalty."

In recent years music bosses have been criticised for not changing quickly enough.

Artificially inflating CD prices, promoting packaged pop, stifling innovation and dragging its heels over downloading are just a few of the accusations most often levelled.

"Music is something people feel very personal about. The very idea that it's also a commercial product to somebody else probably jars with the personal relationship you have with that music," says Mr Wadsworth.

But he feels EMI is innocent of the charges.

'Embraced digital'

Coldplay forced a wobble in EMI shares when they said their album was delayed

"The industry does not make unreasonable profits. It has got a return on sale which is about average for any industry of this kind," he says, arguing that CDs have not risen in price like other similar consumer goods.

Mr Wadsworth also believes the industry in general, and EMI in particular, moved very quickly to embrace the digital revolution.

"It's very easy to give it away and it takes a lot longer to get everything into place to sell it.

"Did Apple iTunes have a service that was waiting for product to come along, that was missing music? I don't think so."

The word "consumer" has been used more in the last couple of years than in the decade previously, he says.