I.B. BAD: WHERE THE ACTION IS

IT’S NO SECRET: Although UMG East Coast chief Barry Weiss has about a year left on his contract, insiders believe he may leave sooner and is said to be exploring several options. Some background: In June 2011, Lucian Grainge brought in Weiss to oversee UMG East Coast labels IDJ, Motown and Republic in one of the Universal ruler’s first major moves, but the situation, puzzlingly has failed to work as Grainge and Weiss envisioned, leaving many to wonder what happened. Soon after Weiss’ arrival, Republic chief Monte Lipman got hot, leaving Weiss to concentrate on the transition of IDJ from the L.A. Reid regime to a reorganized company with Steve Bartels, David Massey and Karen Kwak, who’d been integral parts of Reid’s team, plus a slew of newly added A&R execs. But these ingredients failed to blend into a recipe for consistent success—though the company is still capable of breaking records under Bartels’ leadership, as with this week’s #1 album from Def Jam’s Rick Ross. In any case, Weiss remains highly regarded by his peers and has the record business in his blood.

Among the options Weiss is thought to be weighing is an offer from British radio mogul Ashley Tabor to become a partner in a new label/management company, with Tabor funding the venture and former AEG Live head Randy Phillips inexplicably along for the ride. When the news of this possible partnership hit the industry grapevine, stunned onlookers tried to understand why Weiss would even consider aligning himself with Phillips, who’s viewed as a B-level player, or why Tabor, who heads up the Global Group, the U.K.’s biggest commercial radio operation and is widely considered to be a savvy businessman, would think that Phillips has anything of value to offer in this venture unless it involves concert promotion.

Those in the know say one of the reasons Sony Music U.K. Chairman/CEO Nick Gatfield was let go with a year left on the deal he signed in July 2011 is that his relationship with Simon Cowell—whose SYCO label generates a sizable chunk of the company’s revenues—went from uncomfortable to untenable. Now, following Gatfield’s abrupt exit, the rumor mongering regarding the identity of his replacement in this key gig has reached a fever pitch. Among the more intriguing names being bandied about in connection with this key vacancy is that of Tony Wadsworth, whose impressive CV during his 25-year run at EMI includes signing Radiohead and Coldplay and overseeing the successes of Robbie Williams, Lily Allen and Kylie Minogue. He left EMI in early 2008 at the dawn of the Guy Hands era and became Chairman of trade org BPI. Others thought to be on the shortlist of candidates are former head of Warner U.K. Christian Tattersfield, Parlophone’s ranking exec Miles Leonard, Cowell’s right-hand man at SYCO Sonny Takhar and Roger Ames.

Wonderers are wondering why a blanket of secrecy surrounds the identities of the management companies Scooter Braun is buying. The good news for Braun and company is that Hank Hermann-led, Kansas City-based investment company Waddell & Reed, which is financing this ambitious rollup, is supposedly being supportive despite all the unforeseen curveballs being thrown at the newco.

There’s a growing buzz in Nashville about hot young manager Jason Owen, whose profile will be raised further in the near future. The onetime UMG Nashville SVP of Artist Development and Marketing founded and heads Sandbox Entertainment, whose clients include Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves, Dan & Shay and Shania Twain. Sandbox is now part of Scooter Braun’s well-funded management company.

As unbelievable as this seems, those in the know insist that financial necessity drove U2 manager Paul McGuinness to sell his stake in the band’s management to Live Nation for a rumored $30m. Apparently, he took a major hit when the Irish economy tanked, decimating his investment portfolio. Is McGuinness gone for good, or is this a transitional move?

Lots of chatter about a manager who told his arena-rock client that the band’s upcoming tour was going to net them $20m based on a projection from their agent at WME. When the tour wound up grossing less than half of that estimate and the net was south of $5m, the manager got fired but the agent did not. Said manager is now trying to collect his commissions and has a real problem with the agent for misleading him. Can you guess the names of the manager, band and agent?

The pre-order for the 4/1 debut EP from 5 Seconds of Summer, managed by Richard Griffiths (One Direction) and signed to Steve Barnett’s Capitol, surpassed 50k in its first week of availability, and some are forecasting a debut of 200k or more. Will lightning strike twice for Griffiths and Barnett, who partnered on 1D’s 2012 breakthrough when the latter was co-Chairman of Columbia.

What top publishing exec whose deal is coming to an end is considering a move to the label side?

Names in the rumor mill: Allen Grubman, Clive Davis, Marc Geiger, Todd Glassman, David Joseph, John Sykes, Julie Greenwald and Jeff Harleston.