Sony gets Philly Int'l

PHILLY SOUL TO THE MAX: Sony Music has just completed a deal locking in global ownership of all post-1975 recordings from Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records, bringing together the entire PIR catalog under the SME umbrella. This year, Legacy will release a series of physical and digital releases culminating in a definitive 20-CD box set bringing together classic albums from the likes of Teddy Pendergrass, The O'Jays, Billy Paul, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Lou Rawls, The Three Degrees, The Intruders, MFSB, the Jacksons, McFadden and Whitehead and Patti LaBelle, complete with replications of the original artwork. This is the mother lode, boys and girls. And catalog makes for a nice complement to the bottom line. (2/18a)