IB on Capitol UK, etc.

5 DEGREES OF SEPARATION: Capitol U.K. enters its second year of existence on a roll under former London Records head Nick Raphael, whose signings include two young acts with enormous upsides: BRITS Critics’ Choice winner and current U.K. singles chart-topper Sam Smith and Australian Pop group 5 Seconds of Summer, who built a sizable following while opening for One Direction last year. The 5SOS project reteams manager Richard Griffiths and CMG chief Steve Barnett, who collaborated on the 2012 breakthrough of 1D while the latter was Columbia Co-Chairman. As with that project in its initial stages, the label hasn’t serviced radio yet on this potential teen phenomenon, but 5SOS has logged 45m YouTube views, and the pre-order for their initial U.S. release, an EP hitting 4/1 on Capitol, entered the iTunes chart at #3 this week. These connected tidbits come to you, dear reader, directly from industry insider I.B. Bad, whose latest behind-the-scenes look at the music biz is now available for viewing. (2/28a)