IB tease: Sony UK

PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHUP: While Sony Music U.K. has obviously benefited greatly from having One Direction on the roster, the company has lagged behind its consistently successful Universal counterpart in terms of breaking new acts, which is one of the reasons Nick Gatfield lost his job. In the search for Sony U.K.’s next Chairman/CEO, an offer is rumored to have been made to another respected executive, but no deal has yet been announced. From their vantage points at 550 Madison, Columbia’s Rob Stringer and RCA’s Peter Edge, expats both, are helping to identify candidates, underscoring the critical importance of this job in Sony’s big picture. Stringer has a personal interest in filling it with the right person, having held it himself before moving to Sony U.S. So notes industry insider I.B. Bad in his latest column, posting tomorrow morning, and bearing a distinctly British accent. (3/27a)