Lyor Cohen, the former chairman and CEO of the Warner Music Company and cofounder of Def Jam Records, is in talks to get Google to fund his new music label and talent management company, according to reports.
Cohen stepped down from his position at Warner Music after it was sold to Access Industries during September of 2012. There were plenty of reports that he was working on founding a new label throughout the last year, but the entrepreneur wasn't too glib about details. A few points have gotten out however. Sources suggest that Cohen is trying to run an indie label with the funding of a major. How that makes sense without being totally ironic, we don't know.
What is known is where that major label funding would be coming from. It's believed that Cohen's label would be distributed through Atlantic Records, which is itself a subsidiary of his former employer Warner. His talks with Google shouldn't be shocking either, considering the search engine's recent interest in music investment. The company announced earlier this week that its holding YouTube may introduce a paid-subscription music service, as early as November.
It's also known that Cohen successfully wooed Todd Moskowitz, the former chief of Warner Music, to work with him at his new venture.
Cohen has experience in both running record labels and managing talent. Not only did he help Rick Rubin get Def Jam off the ground, he was also personally involved in talking Jay Z into joining the imprint, a move that most would consider "successful." Cohen is also currently the manager for rapper Rick Ross.
