Reprise topper Klein ankles

Quartararo will take over duties

By JUSTIN OPPELAAR

Klein

Reprise Records chief Howie Klein is ankling his post and will become an outside consultant to the Warner Music Group beginning in June, sources close to the situation said.

Klein, who is expected to announce the departure this week, was not reachable for comment.

Warner Music will not appoint a replacement for Klein, who has run Reprise since 1995. Instead, day-to-day oversight will be handled by his current boss, Warner Bros. Records topper Phil Quartararo.

Fine-tuning company

Move comes at a time of transition for Warner Music. The company last spring trimmed its staff by roughly 600 employees, and in February, 30-year Warner Bros. vet Russ Thyret ankled his post as chairman. It also folded Giant Records, home to the likes of Grammy winner Steely Dan, into parent Warner Bros.

Klein got his start in music booking live acts, first in college at SUNY/Stony Brook and later at clubs in San Francisco, where he also worked as a journalist and DJ. He then formed his own CBS Records-distributed label, 415 Records, where he signed such post-punk acts as Romeo Void and Translator.

Klein joined the Warner family in 1987, working as a general manager at Warner imprint Sire for eight years before signing on as president of Reprise. Under his watch, the label's roster has included such hitmakers as the Barenaked Ladies, Green Day, Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell.