Word on the street is that former Universal Motown president Sylvia Rhone is heading to Sony to restore the defunct Portrait label, where she would work closely with new Epic head L.A. Reid. The move would see new Sony Music Chairman/CEO Doug Morris reuniting Reid and Rhone, both of whom joined him at Universal in 2004 and left the company just months after his long-rumored departure from UMG was announced earlier this year. Rhone informed her former UMG bosses that she was turning down an offer for her own multi-rights company that would encompass touring, merchandising and publishing, among other ancillary revenue streams. Reid and Rhone will be sharing staff, since Portrait would not be a full-service label with its own promotion department. She doesn’t get along with L.A. at all. [Reid is] taking her reluctantly. While there has long been professional competition between the two, they were part of Morris’ team at Universal for many years, and Morris has been known for stability — many feel it is a major reason he was brought in to run Sony, which has been plagued by instability in recent years.
Anthony Thomas
I wanna see the come up of more independent labels. No more SONY big conglomerates throwing around money flooding the radio and TV with bullshit. No disrespect to their ventures but I want artist to keep it in their family and stop allowing big companies to take advantage of em. Take full advantage of the internet while you can people.
Kristen
On some level I agree with Anthony. As the music industry transitions, so should leadership. The same people have been shuffled around for years as label heads. Their former reigns saw great hits and huge manufactured brands, but I question whether this guard are the leadership to take us into the next phase of the music industry. While their resumes speak for themselves, the it speaks volumes when this report says Rhone turned down what sounded like an innovative offer. Are they keeping up with the evolving with the times?
Chris Scholar
very intersting article
bigeasha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyD1ZctIv5I&context=C36ad719ADOEgsToPDskK1D5Xu1WViq4EoowZSYVDL