I.B. BAD ON THE GAGA OFFENSIVE, IDOL’S TRANSFORMATION AND OTHER SIGNS OF LIFE

Apple was supposedly apoplectic about Amazon’s surprise 99-cent Daily Deal on Lady Gaga last Monday (5/23); one can only imagine what the company thought of Thursday’s repeat performance. IGA stood up to threats from iTunes, and the industry loved it that Gaga and her label took them on. One music blog wanker who openly criticized the sale was reportedly the impetus for the company to repeat the promotion. Amazon wound up selling 460k downloads, representing a huge chunk of the 1.1m total, while iTunes sold in the neighborhood of 190k. As for the rest, Best Buy moved around 140k, Target about 90k and Walmart roughly 80k. Indie retail and the 21k non-trad outlets accounted for the remaining 150k. Interestingly, 55% of physical sales were on the deluxe version... While Amazon provided the primary drama, that was just one part of an unprecedented, multi-leveled rollout masterfully orchestrated by Interscope’s Steve Berman and manager Troy Carter… Jimmy Iovine is not only celebrating the biggest-selling debut in ages with Born This Way, he’s also getting big props for the key role he played in reinvigorating the previously moribund American Idol franchise, turning it into an A-list production. It was Iovine who brought behind-the-scenes magic to the show by bringing in stars like Gaga, will.i.am, Sheryl Crow and Kenny Edmonds to share their expertise, and he was also primarily responsible for the guest performer bookings that made the Idol finale the most star-studded televised musical event apart from the Grammys. Wonderers are wondering whether Simon Cowell and his X Factor can compete with the Idol/Iovine star power, which drove this year’s ratings bonanza… It now appears that Cash Money will move from Universal Motown to Monte Lipman’s Universal Republic. Soon after signing with UMG in 1998, label founders Bryan “Baby” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams scored their first national hit with Juvenile’s quadruple-platinum 400 Degrees, and the label has been a force ever since. Cash Money’s current roster includes Lil Wayne, Drake and Nicki Minaj… Sylvia Rhone is said to be still mulling over Lucian Grainge and Weiss’ offer to head up a new entity within UMG… Despite rumors to the contrary, Irv Gotti will not be the new head of Def Jam. He may play a consultant’s role for the executive who is named to run the label, however… While it’s unclear whether Big Four top dogs Sony Music and UMG will enter the bidding on EMI, most believe they’d much prefer the status quo rather than having to deal with a combined Warner Music-EMI in what would then be a Big Three. So, too, would Roger Faxon, who is said to be courting financial players to buy EMI from Citi, apparently determined to pull off the same sort of coup Edgar Bronfman did. Will he find a buyer willing to pay more than Bronfman/Blavatnik? Citi might even be motivated to accept a lesser bid from a financial player, rather than face the uncertainty of intensive regulatory scrutiny, which could conceivably overturn any deal with a strategic entity… In the “everything that goes around comes around” department, Sean Parker, once the scourge of the record business as a principal in the original Napster, is now trumpeting to anyone who’ll listen that the long-depressed business is now on the verge of rekindling itself as it finally gets a handle on harnessing digital technology. The now-wealthy Parker, who’s reportedly involved with efforts to launch Spotify in the U.S., is apparently determined to create interest among Wall Street investors in music assets… Is the majors’ unwillingness to make a deal with Spotify due to pressure from Apple?… In other tech action, Google has apparently concluded that it’s better to let litigation from the majors be the roadmap for a final settlement with them, rather than continuing in its attempts to negotiate deals… At Sony, Rob Stringer and Steve Barnett are locked into jointly running Columbia despite uninformed opinions to the contrary. Additionally, the roles of Peter Edge, Tom Corson and Joe Riccitelli are set within a merged RCA/Jive. Ivan Gavin and Richard Palmese’s roles remain uncertain, while Tom Carrabba is believed to still be going to L.A. Reid’s Epic... Mel Lewinter, a longtime Doug Morris colleague, will also be part of the new Sony team, having just left his job running UMRG… Those persistent rumors that Tom Whalley may have a role at the new Sony are nothing more than that—rumors. Look for him to concentrate instead on trying to lower his handicap to single digits… Big changes are afoot at Disney, with Ken Bunt poised to succeed Bob Cavallo when he steps down in early 2012. Bunt will then become one of the first new-media specialists to head a label... Names in the rumor mill: Clive Davis, Sylvia Rhone, Allen Grubman, Sonny Takhar, Ron Fair, Irv Gotti and Gee Roberson.