You can't always get what you want. No need to tell Guy Hands that. The new owner (through his Terra Firma private equity business) of the EMI music group found out last week that the Rolling Stones would not be releasing their next album on his label. The band may end its long-standing association with the company altogether.

With other artists such as Sir Paul McCartney and Radiohead worrying out loud about EMI's future, and with 2,000 jobs (a third of the workforce) due to be cut, the Stones have decided to walk. I doubt if this was what Mr Hands had in mind when he told employees he was seeking to build a new partnership with artists "based on transparency and trust". So far, he has offered plenty of the former, but earned little of the latter.