Filed under: Music
From Billboard:
The drumbeat is getting louder that Sylvia Rhone will exit Universal Motown Friday (May 20) or within the next few days, depending on which source you listen to. But does that departure mean the end of her days at the Universal Music Group, as some sources insist - or, as other insiders argue, is she still considering a new role to head up a to-be-created, multi-rights company for UMG that would include a label, publishing, merchandising, management and touring?
Since Barry Weiss came to UMG as chairman/CEO of Island Def Jam and Universal Motown Republic Group, it's been expected that Rhone's role at Universal Motown would be coming to an end. But Weiss and UMG CEO Lucian Grainge have been trying to keep her in the UMG fold.
Consequently, they have been negotiating with Rhone, who is believed to have a year left on her contract, to build a new company that would serve as a multi-purpose firm for UMG. Some insiders maintain that even though Rhone is almost out the door, talks are continuing about her taking on the new UMG role as head of the to-be-created company. But other sources familiar with the situation say that she is passing up that opportunity, and calling it a day
at UMG. Stay tuned.
Read more here.