LEONARD TO EXIT PARLOPHONE (MBW)

Longtime Parlophone head Miles Leonard will leave the U.K.-based company by the end of next year, Music Business Worldwide’s Tim Ingham reports.

Ingham’s sources say Leonard has agreed on an exit plan with WMG’s new global head of recorded music, Max Lousada.

During the rest of his tenure, Leonard will continue to contribute to top-level A&R at the company. Ingham points out that the phased-departure plan is reminiscent of that recently enacted for Bob Hurwitz at stateside WMG label Nonesuch.

Leonard first joined EMI-owned Parlophone more than 20 years ago. He came from Virgin Records, where his signings included The Verve. Among the acts he signed and developed for Parlophone are Coldplay, Gorillaz, Kylie Minogue and Tinie Tempah.

He was named Chairman at the label after it was acquired by WMG in 2013.

“We’re told that Lousada is taking Leonard’s counsel on who his replacement could be—and there are already a couple of names in the rumor mill,” Leonard writes.

The execs he singles out are Atlantic U.K. GM Mark Mitchell and Virgin EMI SVP of A&R Nick Burgess—though he’s believed to be under contract into 2019.