EXCLUSIVE: Sources tell me that CAA is about to make a big announcement that it will start a new recording division similar to the deals that Live Nation and Sony have in place. “It’s essentially a 360 deal that encompasses all aspects of an artist’s career i.e. music, touring, acting, merchandising, etc,” one music maven confides. Most labels now require a new artist to sign a 360 deal but in most music management circles that’s considered bad for the artist because among other things labels are not equipped to tour artists as well as support their other interests outside of music. But an agency already does those things. This means that, when CAA gets into this business, it will compete with the majors. And that may not sit well. But there’s a big reward if it works. “This is big news and it may be the first agency to get this off the ground,” one of my insiders explains. Actually, the William Morris Agency did have a record division that flopped. (I’m told it was considered a “cash suck” so when Jim Wiatt and Dave Wirtschafter came over, they quickly got rid of it. Problem is, CAA already has been hurt by a lot of “cash suck” decisions by its partners in recent years.

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