DUNGAN, JANICK JOINTLY SIGN THE BAND PERRY

In their first joint venture, Universal Music Nashville chief Mike Dungan and Interscope topper John Janick have jointly inked multiplatinum, Grammy-winning trio The Band Perry.

Dungan told us, “John and I have talked about working together for years now. I got a call from their manager, Coran Capshaw, telling me The Band Perry were free agents. Two minutes later, John and Aaron Bay-Schuck called me—Aaron had heard them in the studio and was blown away.”

Says Janick, “We connected creatively. It’s rare that two companies connect on this level.” The two label teams, they say, are convening at Music Biz in Nashville to discuss strategy.

The idea that Dungan will simply handle the band’s “country” records and Janick the “pop” recordings, as suggested in the bible’s story, both say, misses the point. Rather, the approach is to follow the band’s creative lead. “This is a band,” Dungan says, “that wants to stretch.”

Interscope, Janick continues, “has always blurred the [genre and format] lines, in terms of collaborations, roster, and partnerships. At the end of the day it’s about great music, great artistry and great people. The Band Perry ticks all those boxes for us.”

Dungan adds that this is the first full-fledged joint venture he and Janick have pursued. “At Universal music meetings,” he notes, “I always gravitate to John’s side of the table. And I love Steve Berman like a brother.”

In a related story, the Bible is planning a seven-page pictorial on Nashville artists wearing sweater vests.