Grainge Comes to L.A.

WELCOME TO L.A.: UMG Co-CEO Lucian Grainge is the subject of Ethan Smith’s story in the Wall Street Journal today, as he outlines the incoming exec’s chief tasks—“to craft a coherent digital strategy, fatten profit margins and address a head count that is larger than its rivals’.” Smith speculates as to whether Grainge and his chief digital music lieutenant Rob Wells will push Universal to license its catalog to Spotify in the U.S. He also mentions Vevo’s ongoing negotiations with MTV, suggesting the aggregator “may pull its videos from the Viacom-owned network and its websites if the two sides can’t reach an agreement.” (7/27p)