FULLER FLOGS 19

Simon Fuller has dumped the entire 19 Entertainment edifice - responsible for Will Young, the too-young S Club and, erm, the Beckham's media strategy - into the gleefilled arms of Robert Sillerman. Sillerman, who runs Sports Entertainment Enterprises. The deal involves stupefying sums of money, SEE being renamed CFX and Fuller getting a seat on the board.

CFX? Is that text speak for Ceefax?

Sillerman did a deal to buy Elvis' corpse and business just before Christmas, and this latest deal means one man is responsible for Official Elvis Presley keychains, Gareth Gate's future and Victoria Beckham's faltering singing career. It's like having the fishing rights on an open sewer, isn't it?

There was, of course, a lot of unhappiness when Sillerman sold up his SFX business to Clear Channel back in 2000 (the move which gave Clear the control of a large chunk of live music business as well as the radio of America). Ordinary shareholders claimed that Sillerman and the other execs of SFX had negotiated a sale on better terms for their own shares than for the general sort; SFX paid out USD34.5million to settle. No wonder Fuller insisted on remaining around after the takeover.

music music business 19 clear channel simon fuller elvis