IT'S DOUG'S PARTY

With his 12 Tone venture due to launch soon, Doug Morris enjoyed a farewell party with a throng of well-wishers at Sony HQ—which, it turns out, was his first such fête. Event MC Rob Stringer who had the assembled in stitches for the duration of his remarks, noted that Doug had never gotten a party after topping the other label groups, so he had to wait until now for his balloons and cake.

Stringer—who's looking forward to exceptional numbers as his first year at the helm comes to an end—added that he was mystified by the presence of a "big bald guy" seen lurking around the building, referring to 12 Tone’s Steve Bartels. “Does he work for us now?” Stringer asked the roaring guests. “I keep asking him how we're doing and he has no answer."