Well, it's been a while since we had any SonyBMG executive tension gossip, so here's another helping for you. As you'll remember, there's been much chatter over moves in the BMG camp to have former Sony exec Andy Lack kicked out of the top job at the merged label, most likely to be replaced by former BMG chief Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, who has had the hands-off role of Non-Executive Chairman post-merger.
The latest gossip comes from a piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Describing the SonyBMG partnership as "a case study in the pitfalls of joint ventures", the Journal cites 'insiders' and says that Sony Corp boss Howard Stringer is now "reluctantly prepared" to kick his friend Lack out of the top job at the merged major in a bid to stop the Sony/BMG alliance from crumbling. The paper also says that rumoured proposals for Schmidt-Holtz to take a more proactive management role, but alongside Lack, are not likely to get the go ahead, with many on the BMG side of the board room now pushing for Lack to go completely. Whatever does now happen, the Journal reckons Stringer will have to act before Lack's current contract comes up for renewal at the end of March.
Others, though not the Journal, are saying that Stringer will probably try to solve this one by promoting Lack out of the record company, finding him a senior role elsewhere in the Sony Corp empire, and well away from their German business partners. Given that Lack's background is more in TV than music, that might involve a move to one of Sony's TV or movie businesses. If that gossip is true, how quickly Stringer will act will depend completely on how quickly he can find or create a suitable vacancy elsewhere in the Corp.