IT’S NO SECRET: Although UMG East Coast chief Barry Weiss has about a year left on his contract, insiders believe he may leave sooner and is said to be exploring several options. Some background: In June 2011, Lucian Grainge brought in Weiss to oversee UMG East Coast labels IDJ, Motown and Republic in one of the Universal ruler’s first major moves, but the situation, puzzlingly has failed to work as Grainge and Weiss envisioned, leaving many to wonder what happened. Soon after Weiss’ arrival, Republic chief Monte Lipman got hot, leaving Weiss to concentrate on the transition of IDJ from the L.A. Reid regime to a reorganized company with Steve Bartels, David Massey and Karen Kwak, who’d been integral parts of Reid’s team, plus a slew of newly added A&R execs, but these ingredients failed to blend into a recipe for consistent success—though the company is still capable of breaking records under Bartels’ leadership, as with this week’s #1 album from Def Jam’s Rick Ross. In any case, Weiss remains highly regarded by his peers and has the record business in his blood. Check out the rest of this developing story tomorrow morning in I.B. Bad’s latest column. (3/13a)