More Exec Shuffling at Sony Music; Gatfield Named Head of U.K. & Rhone Rumored to Revive Portrait
Sylvia Rhone reviving label at Sony?
A number of high-level executive moves at the changing Sony Music structure have shaken out this week, the first on the job for new CEO Doug Morris. We tipped the hotly pursued deal with hit producer/songwriter Dr. Luke for an expanded label mimicking Interscope last week, while this week began with the official naming of Antonio L.A. Reid as CEO and chairman of Epic Records, news that was widely reported in the previous weeks. Assigning of current acts on the Sony roster to Reid’s new domain has already begun, along with new signings underway – it’s also expected that contestants from the X-Factor series will be developed by Epic – Reid is serving as a judge on the American version of the show. On the international front, which is said to be a major focus for Morris, came the revelation yesterday that Nick Gatfield will be taking over Sony’s U.K. operations, replacing outgoing CEO Ged Doherty. Gatfield previously served as head of Universal’s Island Records U.K. from 2001 to 2008 and held an international A&R executive title at EMI until leaving last year. The move to replace Doherty is being deemed as sudden by some, however it seems more likely that Morris was pulling strings well before officially taking his new title. After departing EMI in 2010 toward the end of the troublesome Guy Hands era, Gatfield was believed to likely end up back in the Universal Music fold, under the incoming CEO Lucian Grainge, whom he worked closely with at Island, however it never came to pass. He was also said to have been in talks with Sony late last summer, but a deal was never reached. Then back in February of this year, Gatfield was hired on at Sony U.K. with the somewhat vague title of President/New Music, reporting to Doherty, who he has now replaced. Richard Sanders, the head of Sony Music Interational based in New York, is also out… According to reports, one of the main functions for Gatfield in his new role, will be to maintain relationships with Simon Cowell and his operations under Syco, which Sony owns a 50% stake in… An abutting storyline to the current UMG and Sony rivalry that has some observers intrigued, is the lawsuit filed this week involving a dispute between American Idol’s Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell over the new U.S. X-Factor series – the shows are aligned with Universal Music and Sony Music respectively… And the latest rumor according to a story in Page Six this morning, is that departed Universal Motown prexy Sylvia Rhone will be relaunching the Portrait Records label at Sony. According to the report, the label will work closely with L.A. Reid’s Epic, and Cyndi Lauper, who was on Portrait in the 80’s, will be the first artist signed to the revived imprint… Stay tuned.
08.4.10Wednesday Bits & Pieces: Idol & UMG, eMusic’s new CEO and Chart Highlights
Idol's New Deal with UMG
The big news coming out yesterday was 19 Entertainment’s decision to align American Idol with Universal Music Group for a new distribution and marketing deal, letting their previous deal with Sony Music lapse after 9 seasons. While the move is being portrayed as “dropping a bomb” by many media outlets, the decision comes as much less of a surprise within the industry. The show itself is undergoing many transitions heading into the 10th season, not to mention that creator Simon Fuller’s relationship with new UMG co-CEO Lucian Grainge is well known, performance of Idol finalist releases have been in decline, and uncertainty about what lies ahead for some of Sony’s top brass all pointed to a likely change – as was rumored in past weeks… eMusic has announced a new CEO in Adam Klein, who has previously held positions at MTV and EMI; a new upcoming cloud-based “locker” system has also been tipped. Klein replaces JDS Capital Management/Dimensional Associates head Danny Stein who was running the music service temporarily after the exit of eMusic’s former CEO David Pakman. JDS/Dimensional also recently finalized their acquisition of The Orchard… Elsewhere, Avenged Sevenfold sees their first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Charts with their new release Nightmare, bumping Eminem’s Recovery from the top spot. Another impressive chart story comes from L.A. locals Best Coast, whose new release Crazy For You debuted at #36 selling over 10K in its first week… And will Spotify move into the shadows of the new digital music era, at least in the U.S., with the public launch of Rdio this week?
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Court Rules Against Limewire in Copyright Infringement Case
A big week for Terra Firma boss Guy Hands, as numerous reports revealed that the firm was able to raise the needed 105 million pounds to keep control of EMI. The new injection of funds will keep the music company under the control of the investment firm for another year… A federal court ruled against file-sharing service Limewire in a copyright infringement case; its founder Mark Gorton may be held personally liable as well… Elsewhere, the latest Pirate Bay bidder has tapped TAG Strategic’s Ted Cohen to help facilitate the deal… Universal Music Group dropped it’s lawsuit against Project Playlist (now Playlist.com)… American Idol creator Simon Fuller announced he has been responsible for 160 million downloads via iTunes… And the Apple rumor mill is churning with speculation that a streaming music service will be announced at the Worldwide Developers conference on June 7th…
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