"I genuflect every time I walk past his picture," Mr. Azzoli said of Mr. Brooks, even though the singer is on a rival label.

Executives at rival labels said yesterday that those cuts would hurt small stores, which rely on the payments, more than major chains, which have lower costs and more bargaining power.

One executive who worked at a rival label remembered Mr. Yetnikoff as a man who enjoyed "humiliating a great many people."

"Those artists that were in contact with him had to deal with him," said the executive from the rival label.

Following a bidding war between rival labels, Silverchair signed a three-album recording contract with Sony Music subsidiary Murmur Records.

Several executives at rival labels, some of whom have been ejected from the companies they ran in similar power struggles, answered that question on condition of anonymity.

This was due to a rival label, Elektra claiming they owned the rights to the name Hot Water Music, due to another band with the same name on the label.

An influx of similar releases appeared on rival labels, including Stylus collections, The Right Stuff Remix 89 and Where's The House?

One executive at a rival label who considered signing the band described the deal the Foo Fighters wanted as "astronomical."

But whether he can take the post hinges on his effort to negotiate an exit from a rival label, Warner Brothers Records.