IB tease: UK-US synergy

SMOOTH OPERATORS: On numerous occasions, releases from U.K. acts have been buried at the bottom of U.S. labels’ priority lists—which is more than a little ridiculous considering what’s been coming out of the British Isles for the last half century. That is far from the case these days, in large part because of a relatively recent phenomenon—the rise of seasoned and savvy British execs to the top posts at American record companies. What would the modern-day music biz be without the likes of Grainge, Stringer, Barnett, Edge, Cowell and Massey? In Part Two of his latest dispatch from the frontlines, HITS’ undercover operative I.B. Bad takes a look at the newfound synergy between the British and American wings of UMG and Sony Music’s now fully interactive Anglo-American infrastructures. (4/25a)