Business News Industry People Labels & Publishers

Is Doug Morris meeting Vivendi to discuss Sony move?

By | Published on Tuesday 11 January 2011

Universal

According to Bloomberg, Universal Music Chairman Doug Morris has requested a meeting with the major music firm’s parent company Vivendi to discuss his contract. It is widely assumed that Morris is looking to get out of that contract so he will be free to consider a move to rivals Sony Music.

Morris, of course, has been in the process of stepping down as day to day CEO of Universal for a year now. New chief Lucian Grainge took over sole executive control of the world’s biggest music firm at the start of the month, but the plan has always been for long time Universal exec Morris to stay on in the back seat Chairman’s role.

But, as previously reported, the CEO’s job is due to come vacant at Sony Music this year, and rumours are rife that Sony Corp will bring in someone from outside its music company to take over the top job there, fearing that promoting from within its US record companies will reinvigorate tensions between the old Sony brigade and the old BMG brigade, which continue despite it being nearly seven years since the SonyBMG merger.

72 year old Morris has been linked to the Sony top job since last month, with some commentators noting that a back seat Chairman’s role, like that he now has at Universal, isn’t really Morris’s style. Bloomberg’s sources say talks between Morris and Sony are ongoing, hence his need to sound out his current employers about exiting his Universal role early.



READ MORE ABOUT: | | |