Yahoo! director of entertainment Simon Gunning is leaving the web giant after 16 months to become the senior vice-president of digital for EMI UK and Ireland.

It is a new position at EMI, which is keen to expand its digital activities in an attempt to reverse its recent disappointing financial performance.

Mr Gunning previously worked as director of interactive media at TV production company Celador and spent more than four years at cable TV firm Flextech, which rebranded as Virgin Media Television in February.

The move is a return to the music industry for Mr Gunning, who ran a music management company for three and a half years before joining Flextech.

A spokesperson for EMI confirmed the appointment but would not comment further on Mr Gunning's remit.

EMI recently announced an extended partnership with UK download service 7digital, which will make EMI's entire digital catalogue available through the site.

Last month, EMI became the last of the big four music groups to sign a deal with video sharing site YouTube to create a branded channel for its videos.

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