Hot tip: French star dumps partner, jumps ship
mainAnyone who thought the classical music was in for a quiet time after this blog helped break up the proposed merger between Universal Music and the Harrison Parrott agency is in for a rude awakening. Since then, Parrott has grabbed a chunk of faltering IMG and vultures are swirling around other likely victims.
So who’s making the next move?
My spies tell me it’s Helene Grimaud, the star earner of HP and personal protegée of its founder, Jasper Parrott. La Grimaud has been looking uneasy of late and playing worse.
Instead of devoting more time to practise, she has been seen huddling in dark corners with predators. Obviously, the first on her tail was the desperate agency wing of Universal Music which has been left high and dry since the HP deal fell through. Grimaud makes her records for DG. A hook-up would make sense.
But what’s this I hear from Milan? Grimaud, spotted in a cosy nook with persuasive Kathryn Enticott and Libby Abrahams of IMG.
No-one’s confirming anything, but I’m told the deal’s imminent. Grimaud goes to IMG.
That’s seriously bad news for Parrott, since Grimaud earns more in commission than the entire raft of singers he took off IMG.
But it’s even worse than Universal, who are looking not just glum, but pointless.
Better believe it.
Mark, greetings – we played together in Camerata, Salzburg for a short time – would be nice to get back in touch. Peter