UMG East Takes Shape

BEASTS OF UMG EAST: There’s been no apparent movement at UMG, with the anticipated changes involving the East Coast operations seemingly on hold. While Universal Republic’s Monte and Avery Lipman have received new deals from Lucian Grainge, speculation continues about the futures of Universal Motown’s Sylvia Rhone, who has two years left on her current contract and is expected to play a significant role in the revamped company, and IDJ’s L.A. Reid, whose deal is up at the end of 2011. For his part, Reid has continued to demonstrate his elevated A&R chops with the nurturing and breaking of Justin Bieber, turning in one of the most significant success stories of recent years—the budding superstar’s upcoming feature film serving as the latest step in his ascent. His history of successes would make Reid a highly sought-after free agent should he and Grainge decide not to move forward together. (2/10p)