WARNER/CHAPPELL TO LOSE LES

As we hinted so strongly in yesterday’s Rumor Mill, Warner/Chappell Music Chairman/CEO Les Bider has decided to leave his post after 18 years on the job.

Bider’s contract runs through the end of the year, but according to Warner Music Group, he will step down once his successor is named and a sufficient transition period has taken place. No reason was given for his departure.

Said Bider, “After 25 rewarding years running Warner Music’s music publishing division, I have elected not to extend my agreement when it expires at the end of the year. I wanted to make my intentions known this early in order to ensure a smooth leadership transition. I intend to work closely with my successor to help create a seamless passing of the baton and to do everything I can to ensure the continued prosperity of a company I have known and loved for the past quarter-century.”

Said WMG Chairman/CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr., “Les has been at WMG since the creation of its publishing division, providing strong and steady leadership for more than two decades. During that time, he’s presided over that division’s growth from a $30 million a year operation to a business generating in excess of a half-billion dollars. He’s brought a vision to the business and a passion for the music that has taken Warner/Chappell to the very top of the music publishing industry. We will miss his presence and his leadership and wish for him continued great success.”

Bider began his career at WMG in 1981 as CFO of Warner Bros. Music, adding COO to his title in 1983. In 1987 he helped engineer the merger of Warner Bro. Music and Chappell Music, becoming CEO of the new company and Chairman the following year.

WMG has yet to say who will succeed Bider, but industry insiders are betting it will be current Warner/Chappell President Rick Shoemaker.