I.B. BAD: CHANGES GONNA COME

AIRPORT—THE SEQUEL: Buzzers still buzzing about last week’s revelations in the Financial Times about a secret meeting between Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer and Bertelsmann head Gunter Thielen that took place two months ago at Teterboro Airport. It was there, FT reported, that Thielen first informed Stringer of Bertie’s opposition to renewing the contract of Andy Lack. In today’s business landscape, it would seem that air terminals have replaced corporate conference rooms as the preferred locales for the delivery of bad news… In all the media hubbub surrounding the Lack situation, nothing has yet been said about how different the Sony BMG world will be if, as many expect, Lack is replaced by BMG’s Rolf Schmidt-Holtz. One significant by-product of such an outcome would be the unfettering of Sony Music’s Don Ienner, who for the first time would have sole power over Sony Music’s U.S. operations resulting from Schmidt-Holtz’s strong belief in decentralization. Up to now, Ienner has worked under micromanaging bosses Lack and Mottola. Even Ienner’s rivals have believed for some time that he’s one of the two or three best record executives in the business… BULLETS IN THE CHAMBER: Insiders saying the Interscope/50 Cent camp aims to rack up first-week sales north of 1 million units on the soundtrack to the movie Get Rich or Die Tryin’, streeting on Tuesday (11/8), figuring that the abundance of media and millions in marketing money surrounding the film’s opening on Wednesday could supercharge retail. 50’s previous LP, The Massacre, sold nearly 2 million units in 12 days, driven in large part by multiple hit singles. While the first single from the soundtrack came and went quickly, the follow-up, "Window Shopper," is showing strong movement, having reached the mid-20s at Rhythm. When the movie opens, the spins should pick up dramatically… Much eye-rolling inside SBMG after recently installed Compliance Officer Gil Aronow set up an “anonymous” hotline which prospective whistle blowers are encouraged to use to report any observed wrongdoing on the part of co-workers. Employees have dubbed this gambit “the Rat Line.”… Jeff McClusky, who created the indie-promotion practice of toll-taking, has informed the majors that his company will comply no longer pay access fees to radio stations for early adds. This means the tollbooth is now closed for good… Names in the Rumor Mill: Walk, Munns, Kwatman, Berman, Smellie and Toffler.