UMG’S BRAVE NEW
EAST COAST WORLD

With Barry Weiss’ move to UMG now out of the bag, it’s time to speculate as to what Lucian Grainge’s East Coast structure, which the veteran record exec will reportedly oversee, ends up looking like.

With a new big deal in hand from Grainge, L.A. Reid acquires a brand-new platform to do what he does best—sell tons of albums from superstar acts, overseeing the making of those records and their imaging. What acts he will be responsible for at this time is still unclear, but most believe he will have the pick of who he wants from IDJ, with some other UMG acts under him as well. He will work closely with Weiss, but report to Grainge.

What will happen to IDJ is now a question that needs to be answered. It will probably come from Weiss and Grainge, but most believe Steve Bartels and David Massey will play key roles, reporting to Barry.

And what aboutr Monte Lipman’s Universal Republic and Sylvia Rhone's Universal Motown, which currently reside under the helm of Mel Lewinter’s label group, boasting UMG’s #1 marketshare in new releases? Insiders believe that both Lipman and Rhone will continue to run their respective labels and report to Weiss on day-to-day ops of their fiefdoms.

At the same time, insiders predict Grainge will be very hands-on with the managing of all his power players or strikers, as soccer (or football) terminology now becomes part of the UMG lexicon.

Unanswered at this time is what kind of a role will remain for Lewinter, whose depth of knowledge about the inner workings of the music biz could be a real asset while the restructuring takes place. The savvy vet redefines the classic old expression of "he knows where the bodies are buried."

Last, but not least, from the “timing is everything” playbook comes the story of what role will be played by old friend Jason Flom, who once again seems poised to knock the ball out of the park with his new pop sensation, U.K. songwriter/performer Jessie J. Flom has an incredible track record of delivering big album sales over his career at Virgin, Atlantic and Lava.