IB tease

IT’S A TWO-HORSE RACE: By now the story is familiar—after spending a number of wildly successful years together, the mentor, Doug Morris, is succeeded as commander in chief of Universal by his protégé, Lucian Grainge, whereupon the still-feisty Morris takes command of Sony Music, UMG’s archrival. But in his latest column, our own I.B. Bad takes note of an intriguing subplot: both of these industry titans are supported in the U.S. by senior-executive teams made up largely of Brits. It’s an intriguing wrinkle, and it makes for good read, as the music biz continues to supply us with stories far more unexpected and entertaining than we could possibly think up on our own. And that is I.B.’s beat. (5/18a)