RUMOR MILL
The latest buzz is that UMG will organize EMI as a pair of freestanding label groups based in Los Angeles and London after the merger is finalized. If so, will the ranking execs come from EMI or UMG, or will Universal look outside to fill these key posts?
Friday, April 20, 2012
I.B. BAD CHECKS ON POSSIBLE ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES
Things Are in Flux at the Very Top of WMG, While Universal Republic Continues to Add Muscle on Both the Roster and the Creative Staff
The latest word is that Lyor Cohen is less than thrilled about Len Blavatnik and Stephen Cooper’s offer of $4m a year on his proposed new deal. But Cohen—who built the company’s culture and brought in his own executive team to run it—has to be relieved that Cooper’s job at Warner is short-term; the current CEO is an efficiency expert who was brought in specifically to cut costs and change the Warner culture. Nonetheless, Cooper’s micro-managing is presently causing plenty of grief among Warner’s top executives.
It remains to be seen how Cohen would feel about Cooper being replaced by Roger Faxon, with the conversations between the EMI chief and Warner reportedly gaining traction. Wonderers are now wondering whether Cohen and Faxon are capable of coexisting. If Faxon does wind up at WMG, will Allen Grubman, who is said to be playing a behind-the-scenes role, find a way to persuade the two to work together? A Faxon-to-WMG scenario could conceivably give current EMI execs some options in terms of their next moves.
Meanwhile, Craig Kallman, Julie Greenwald and Cohen are anxiously awaiting Mike Caren’s decision on whether to stay on at Atlantic or accept an offer from a rival label. Caren is a bona fide A&R star, having signed or co-signed T.I., Trey Songz, Flo Rida, B.o.B and Wiz Khalifa. Fellow Atlantic rainmaker John Janick, who is riding the momentum of having signed Fun. (now at 3.62m singles), is supposedly being chased for a high-level position at IDJ by Barry Weiss in his ongoing effort to rebuild the East Coast creative team following the hiring of WBR’s Joie Manda. But the ask on Janick’s deal may be too rich at $2.5m in salary plus more in overhead.
As a result of the uncertainty surrounding Caren and Janick—and as what one attorney has dubbed the “Jewish Terra Firma” threatens to implode—Kallman is rumored to be exploring possible options at UMG and Sony.
The latest buzz is that UMG will organize EMI as a pair of freestanding label groups based in Los Angeles and London after the merger is finalized. If so, will the ranking execs come from EMI or UMG, or will Universal look outside to fill these key posts? Meanwhile, industry observers are startled by the degree of confidence the Universal and EMI brass are exuding about the EC approving the merger, but it appears that many high-ranking players who are not part of the deal are betting that it won’t happen.
Monte Lipman’s Universal Republic (with a robust 9.5% in current marketshare) has three albums in this week’s Top 10 with the surging Gotye (550k singles this week, 2.5m total), Icelandic group Of Monsters & Men and Young Money/Cash Money’s Nicki Minaj, although Minaj’s sales have been somewhat disappointing thus far. This latest run of hits, which continues a hot streak that began last year when Universal Motown was folded into the label, has Lipman feeling his oats, according to UMG insiders. Meanwhile, Lipman continues to build his firepower by adding Tom Whalley and Rick Rubin to his increasingly formidable creative team.
Simon Cowell has added Britney Spears to the X Factor judges’ panel, apparently to lure younger viewers, but who else will Cowell choose, and will he look to assemble a U.S. version of One Direction from this season’s contestants? The ultimate question is, can Cowell become the king of music TV in the States as he is in Britain?
One Direction, which just performed three sold-out Australian shows at 4,000-seat venues, is earning a staggering $57 per head in merch, as 1D-mania begins to work its way around the globe. On the heels of the group’s 177k chart-topping debut last month, this week’s release of boy-band rival The Wanted is trending at a comparatively modest 75k. Inquiring minds want to know what’s behind this disparity. Interestingly, IDJ put out the Wanted single (now at 1.7m) seven weeks before Syco/Columbia went with the 1D track (1.1m).
Will Jimmy Iovine use the American Idol platform to gain exposure for MOG, as he did last season with Beats headphones, once the MOG-Beats deal closes?
David Guetta is out of contract with EMI, and Gary Stiffelman is negotiating on his behalf, with most expecting the DJ/producer to wind up at UMG or Sony. Could beleaguered EMI end up re-signing him?
Shakira’s new deal is going through Peter Edge’s RCA, with Dr. Luke set to produce a few sides. Shakira inked a 360-deal with Michael Rapino’s Live Nation in July, 2008, and is now being managed by Roc Nation’s Jay Brown.
Names in the rumor mill: Zach Horowitz, Joe Riccitelli, Randy Phillips, Greg
It remains to be seen how Cohen would feel about Cooper being replaced by Roger Faxon, with the conversations between the EMI chief and Warner reportedly gaining traction. Wonderers are now wondering whether Cohen and Faxon are capable of coexisting. If Faxon does wind up at WMG, will Allen Grubman, who is said to be playing a behind-the-scenes role, find a way to persuade the two to work together? A Faxon-to-WMG scenario could conceivably give current EMI execs some options in terms of their next moves.
Meanwhile, Craig Kallman, Julie Greenwald and Cohen are anxiously awaiting Mike Caren’s decision on whether to stay on at Atlantic or accept an offer from a rival label. Caren is a bona fide A&R star, having signed or co-signed T.I., Trey Songz, Flo Rida, B.o.B and Wiz Khalifa. Fellow Atlantic rainmaker John Janick, who is riding the momentum of having signed Fun. (now at 3.62m singles), is supposedly being chased for a high-level position at IDJ by Barry Weiss in his ongoing effort to rebuild the East Coast creative team following the hiring of WBR’s Joie Manda. But the ask on Janick’s deal may be too rich at $2.5m in salary plus more in overhead.
As a result of the uncertainty surrounding Caren and Janick—and as what one attorney has dubbed the “Jewish Terra Firma” threatens to implode—Kallman is rumored to be exploring possible options at UMG and Sony.
The latest buzz is that UMG will organize EMI as a pair of freestanding label groups based in Los Angeles and London after the merger is finalized. If so, will the ranking execs come from EMI or UMG, or will Universal look outside to fill these key posts? Meanwhile, industry observers are startled by the degree of confidence the Universal and EMI brass are exuding about the EC approving the merger, but it appears that many high-ranking players who are not part of the deal are betting that it won’t happen.
Monte Lipman’s Universal Republic (with a robust 9.5% in current marketshare) has three albums in this week’s Top 10 with the surging Gotye (550k singles this week, 2.5m total), Icelandic group Of Monsters & Men and Young Money/Cash Money’s Nicki Minaj, although Minaj’s sales have been somewhat disappointing thus far. This latest run of hits, which continues a hot streak that began last year when Universal Motown was folded into the label, has Lipman feeling his oats, according to UMG insiders. Meanwhile, Lipman continues to build his firepower by adding Tom Whalley and Rick Rubin to his increasingly formidable creative team.
Simon Cowell has added Britney Spears to the X Factor judges’ panel, apparently to lure younger viewers, but who else will Cowell choose, and will he look to assemble a U.S. version of One Direction from this season’s contestants? The ultimate question is, can Cowell become the king of music TV in the States as he is in Britain?
One Direction, which just performed three sold-out Australian shows at 4,000-seat venues, is earning a staggering $57 per head in merch, as 1D-mania begins to work its way around the globe. On the heels of the group’s 177k chart-topping debut last month, this week’s release of boy-band rival The Wanted is trending at a comparatively modest 75k. Inquiring minds want to know what’s behind this disparity. Interestingly, IDJ put out the Wanted single (now at 1.7m) seven weeks before Syco/Columbia went with the 1D track (1.1m).
Will Jimmy Iovine use the American Idol platform to gain exposure for MOG, as he did last season with Beats headphones, once the MOG-Beats deal closes?
David Guetta is out of contract with EMI, and Gary Stiffelman is negotiating on his behalf, with most expecting the DJ/producer to wind up at UMG or Sony. Could beleaguered EMI end up re-signing him?
Shakira’s new deal is going through Peter Edge’s RCA, with Dr. Luke set to produce a few sides. Shakira inked a 360-deal with Michael Rapino’s Live Nation in July, 2008, and is now being managed by Roc Nation’s Jay Brown.
Names in the rumor mill: Zach Horowitz, Joe Riccitelli, Randy Phillips, Greg
