Capitol Records Buys Last Half of Priority

EMI Group’s Capitol Records paid $70 million on Friday to Priority Records founder Bryan Turner for the half of Priority Records it does not already own. Under the deal, Turner could receive an additional multimillion-dollar sum in five years if Priority continues to perform well, sources said. Two years ago, Capitol bought a 50% interest in Priority, which releases and distributes music by such rap stars as Master P and Ice Cube. EMI also announced that its Capitol-EMI Properties will be folded into the British conglomerate’s EMD distribution arm, resulting in the loss of about 30 jobs, sources said.