HOT FLASH: The noisiest record industry rumor...

HOT FLASH: The noisiest record industry rumor (even hotter than the buzz about David Geffen’s acquisition of Chrysalis Records’ stock) involves Irving Azoff’s imminent departure from MCA Records. It’s a rumor perhaps fueled by the fact that Azoff has complained to several thousand close friends about his unhappiness at the label. Is MCA’s Record Group chairman really leaving? Is he unhappy? Bored? Or could word of his impending departure spur a possible renegotiation of his long-term contract? First Azoff joked: “I’m never happy. I’m a chronic malcontent.” Then he responded, more seriously: “I think the arrival of a major figure like Al Teller (as MCA Records president) coupled with the recent sale of Front Line Management (a firm Azoff had long been associated with) has started some wild rumors, none of which are true. I have no plans to leave MCA at all. These kinds of rumors are the things that make stars in the music business and I plan to enjoy being a star in the executive ranks of the business--at MCA.”