Lyor Cohen quits Warners

Lyor Cohen, the man who knocked Warners back together after it escaped from Time Warner, has announced he's got something better to do with his time:

"To all the artists and employees who live and die for the music every day, and who personally sacrifice for the good of the creative process: 'keep on keepin' on' in the tradition of a company that respects and honors the artistic community," Cohen said in a statement.

The label is making warm noises about understanding his need for a new challenge, although what could be more challenging than keeping the leaky old Warners ship afloat we struggle to imagine.

Ghostwatch

Amanda Ghost, Blunt-collaborator-turned-head-of-Epic-turned-xx-collaborator, got a broadly sympathetic profiling and interview in yesterday's Guardian Film & Music:

Sony remains confident enough in her business acumen and knack for spotting talent to enter a joint venture with her new label, Outsiders, allowing Ghost to take Oh Land, a new-school Madonna by way of Björk and Lady Gaga, with her. The Dane was Ghost's first signing at Epic, but her single, Wolf and I, will become Outsiders's first release next month, funded by Sony. Ghost continues to work with Sony-signed artists including Beyoncé, Shakira and John Legend – her co-write with the latter, Getting Nowhere, is the current single for another Sony artist, Magnetic Man, and she says it was one of only three songs she wrote during her time at Epic.

A perhaps more probing piece might have asked how far the Outsiders label is a sign of faith by Sony, and how far it's part of the settlement of her contract; certainly, it's hard to see how Oh Land would fit with the Sony roster.

And that Sony are happy to work with her artistically is surely a validation of the argument that she was a creative who wandered into the wrong part of the business, rather than a rejection of that?

Mind you, when she says things like this, you can see why someone would give her an office with a sofa and a drinks cabinet in it:

[Being an executive] was magical, and fun, and depressing, and unhappy – a multitude of emotions. But ultimately it has helped me as a songwriter and a producer and a record-label boss, because I can see what happens to the product once it's completed – how it's treated, how it's marketed, how it's sold. And it makes me believe even more in the power of content, and how important it is to get that content as air-tightly brilliant as possible before you throw it to the wolves."

Product and content, product and content; and not fans or even customers but "wolves". She can approach music and artists and magic with just as much dead-eyed contempt as anyone who worked their way up from the Capitol accounts department - despite railing against record companies thinking they can treat their business like it was selling toasters.

Her final words are fascinating, though:

"It's very important we realise why the music business is failing," she says, "and I do not believe it's because of the internet. We need to focus on the quality of the music and allow artists time to develop. All creativity should be made, I believe, outside of corporations, and be nurtured with the incredible tools we have. With publicity and television and viral and online and social media, there is no reason why you can't get that music out there – and if it's good, people will respond."

Did she believe that before Sony gave her Epic? Because if she did, why did she ever take the job in the first place? And if she really believes that creativity should be made outside corporations, why is her vanity label a Sony imprint?

Her self-chosen surname is a good one: a creature who floats between two worlds, without a firm commitment to either.

MySpace Music decides to do without a President

Courtney Holt, who was president of MySpace Music, has decided to follow the herd and has stepped down from the role. He's not being replaced, either, with MySpace CEO Mike Jones taking responsibility for Music, too, which pretty much looks like a "keeping it going until someone takes it over or kills it off" position.

MySpace Music still does pretty good numbers in terms of visitors in the US, but hasn't been able to turn the ears into anything saleable; to add insult to injury, half-assed YouTube spin-off Vevo now outstrips it for visitors.

EMI gives Bertrand Bodson, tells him to ignore the blood and the screaming

EMI has filled the hole at the top by taking on Bertrand Bodson as SVP, global digital marketing.

Bodson used to look after DVD rentals business in Europe (no, apparently they have one) before moving on to co-found Bragster. Yes, yes you do. Bragster.com. You can dare your friends on it and everything. It's like YouTube, but with everything but the show-offs removed.

It's Bodson's skill at making Bragster such a household name that has brought him to EMI, to do for old EMI songs what he did for people wanting to dare other people to see who has the cutest pet.

Good luck in your new job, Mr. Bodson. You might want to check your contract to see what happens to your remuneration package should the business be passed over to a bank in a few months' times.

Gordon in the morning: Seasick and buried

If only I had a range of made-up prizes to share out, like Gordon's 'Shagger Of The Year' prize, I'd be reaching into my sack to give Bizarre one today, for giving an unlikely lead story to Seasick Steve. It's unexpected, and it's quite a nice piece:

The former hobo told me: “I didn’t even know what the Brits was. My record label had to explain it to me. I thought they were joking."

That's a wonderful quote. They can add it to the press releases, right after someone from the BPI tries to claim that the Brits are one of the most impressive global events of the year.

Nice work, everybody. And putting a bloke with a beard and a check shirt at the heart of your double-page spread is surprising and uplifting.

What a pity, though, that the online edition of Bizarre has the story buried away at the bottom of the page, making vital space for stories about Caprice in her pants and Lady GaGa in her pants.

There is some breaking news, though: Universal have sent an executive out to have a word with Amy Winehouse. Sorry, I say "executive" - according to Richard White, he's actually a "bigwig":

AMY WINEHOUSE’s record label yesterday flew a bigwig to her holiday resort for a heated showdown.

Universal’s commercial director Brian Rose was dispatched to St Lucia to “drive some common sense” into the singer.

A heated showdown, eh? Is that one that you pop into a microwave for thirty seconds before using it?

For those who haven't been keeping up, there's a recap of Amy's behaviour:

The 25-year-old has been snapped crawling under tables begging for alcohol from other guests after staff at the swish Caribbean resort refused to serve her.

Guests also said the Rehab star has been blowing as much as £8,000 on food and drink for people she barely knows.

Actually, if she's been taking drinks off people, and buying drinks for people, doesn't that make her more or less square with the other guests?

So, Universal is putting its foot down, is it?

Universal last night confirmed Mr Rose had flown to St Lucia but insisted the meeting was to discuss future projects.

Well, yes - but that could take the form 'when are you going to stop crawling under tables and start making us some more money', couldn't it?

I think we know how this story ends, though, don't we?:

CHERYL COLE was looking as good as ever at London’s Zuma restaurant, where she was discussing plans with American music execs to crack the US.

We have that she was doing this on good authority because, erm, of some eavesdropping:

A fellow diner at the Japanese hotspot said: “They told her she’s in big demand.”

... before explaining that he'd dropped a bread roll on the floor, and that was the only reason he was crawling around under the table listening, you understand.

Cheryl Cole is in big demand in America, is she? Can we have some calibration for this - is it more or less than the demand for a revival of Melrose Place, for example?

Execobit: Jerry Wexler

Music journalist, executive and producer Jerry Wexler died earlier today.

Born in 1917, to an emigre Pole, Wexler had initially adopted journalism as a career after his mandated spell in the US Army. He joined Billboard in 1947, staying for four years - during this time coining the phrase "rhythm and blues" - before turning gamekeeper and joining a promotions company. Within a year, Ahmet Ertegun was sounding him out for a role at Atlantic Records; Wexler refused, holding out for a partnership. By 1953, Ertegun had come round to Wexler's way of thinking and sold him a share.

With a management style he described as that of a despot with problems delegating, he played a role in building up Atlantic's reputation and sales. He took charge of everything he could - doing production duties, for example, on Aretha Franklin's version of Respect.

An attempt to establish a powerbase in Nashville proved to be his undoing at Atlantic; following its failure he parted company with the label.

In 1977 he joined Warner Brothers as its East Coast man - a role which led him to sign Dire Straits and the B-52s, shaping the FM sound for the early 1980s. The assocation, though, didn't last long, and Wexler would quickly cut ties with the majors, carving out a freelance niche working with Bob Dylan, Dire Straits, Etta James, Allen Toussaint, the Staple Singers, George Michael and others.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame made space for him in 1987, leading him to sum up his career:

"We were making rhythm and blues music — black music by black musicians for black adult buyers perpetrated by white Jewish and Turkish entrepreneurs."

Signalling his retirement, when Wexler moved to Florida towards the end of the last decade, he also canceled his Billboard subscription. He enjoyed a period offering contributions to a stream of documentaries about the music industry during its glory years, and a small glittery portrayal of his life in the Ray Charles biopic Ray.

Wexler is survived by his wife, Jean Alexander and his children Paul and Lisa. He was 91.