FAILING UPWARD, PART 746 (NOW WITH CAT VIDEOS)

Who took a stupid pill at YouTube? The company has appointed none other than Lyor Cohen as its Global Head of Music, placing one of the most noxious personalities in the biz in a senior post at the site most often blamed by industryites for the devaluation of music. Rather than healing the yawning rift between rights holders and Google’s video giant, the installation of the biz’s bumbling blowhard has the potential to make things far worse.

All of which renders the headline of Claire Atkinson’s story in the Thursday edition of the New York Post—“YouTube signs music legend to put friendly face on operations”—unintentionally hilarious.

According to reports, he’ll step down from the 300 label on 12/5, handing the reins to senior team members, who will continue repairing whatever damage he’s done thus far (in the tradition of his disastrous turns at Warner and Def Jam). Word has it he was unable to negotiate a decent new deal for the label, as he had no takers.

Lyor’s YouTube era began with a typically windy and self-aggrandizing letter to employees, who have a real treat in store between showing him how a computer works and pretending to be spiritually elevated by his endless profundities. Watch your Snapchat feeds, everyone!