EMI to Pay Music Chief $7.44 Million

British music giant EMI Group said Tuesday that it plans to pay its recorded-music chief, Ken Berry, as much as $7.44 million a year under a new contract, including $300,000 to rent a house in Los Angeles.

EMI, which has been criticized for its executives’ lucrative pay packages, also said it will pay Martin Bandier, the head of its music-publishing business, up to $5.2 million a year.

EMI said Berry and Bandier received the pay hikes to reflect their appointment to the company’s board after the departure of former music chief James Fifield in April.

Fifield received a $25-million package when he left EMI, a mammoth amount for executives of British companies. But EMI, which has seen its profit and stock fall this year, argues that its compensation is in line with the U.S. music industry.