STEVENSON TO 300? NOT SO MUCH

Contrary to the rumor published in Music Business Worldwide, sources at Republic say that EVP Rob Stevenson will not be departing the label to run 300 Entertainment in the wake of Lyor Cohen's move to YouTube. The British trade reported that Stevenson's name was widely touted as the new 300 head, noting that logical Cohen successor Todd Moscowitz was ruled out after inking his JV deal with UMG.

Although Stevenson would unquestionably be a great hire, it seems extremely unlikely that Monte Lipman and Lucian Grainge would let a top A&R exec go with 1 1/2 years left on his deal, especially at this moment of renewed label investment in A&R.