MOTTOLA STARTING OWN LABEL, LEAVES SONY MUSIC POST

It’s the end of the Mottola era at Sony…and the beginning of a new one.

After 14 years on the job, Sony Music Entertainment Chairman/CEO Thomas D. Mottola has stepped down from his post to launch a new label.

Negotiations are already underway for Sony to distribute the as-yet-unnamed new company.

According to sources, a replacement for Mottola will be announced within the next 24-48 hours. The new chief will reportedly be someone from outside the traditional record business, "with a strong financial background."

That appointment will come from Sony Corp. President/COO Howard Stringer, to whom the new exec will report. The 60-year-old Stringer is directly in charge of all U.S. operations for the Tokyo-based media giant.

Sony Music reps could not be reached for comment.

After Sony acquired then-CBS Records in 1988 and replaced Walter Yetnikoff with Mottola, he transformed the music group into a true industry powerhouse, earning the biggest numbers in its illustrious history. Last year, Sony Music finished with 15.67% of the U.S. music market, placing it third among the five major music companies.

Mottola organized a strong, long-standing management team, headed by such execs as SME’s Michele Anthony and Mel Ilberman, Columbia’s Don Ienner and Epic’s Dave Glew and Polly Anthony, revitalized the publishing division and expanded SME into gospel, children’s entertainment and audio and video programming.

He was instrumental in helping launch such artists as Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Pearl Jam, Maxwell and Dixie Chicks, while re-energizing the careers of superstars Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett.

Before joining Sony, Mottola was a highly successful manager as founder and President of Champion Entertainment, where his clients included superstars Hall & Oates, John Mellencamp and Carly Simon.