SONY/BMG'S NEW LABEL

Sony/BMG has launched a new Hip-Hop label called Battery Records.

Heading the imprint will be Neil Levine, most recently the head of Capitol Music Group's urban division. Levine now assumes the title of Senior Vice President and General Manager of Battery Records, reporting to recently appointed BMG COO Ivan Gavin. Levine's rap roots trace back over twenty years, when he formed Round The Globe Music, a marketing and promotions company aimed at championing the then-fledgling art form. He then spun that into founding Penalty Records.

Says Neil: "I'm thrilled to be re-united with [BMG COO] Ivan Gavin and to work with CEO Barry Weiss, the best record man in the business. I 'm also excited to be part of a winning team with Tom Carrabba [EVP & GM, Zomba Label Group] and Tom Corson [EVP & GM, RCA Music Group]."

Battery Records shares New York offices with Sony/BMG's RED Marketing Group. The synergy between RED and Battery Records allows Levine and his staff to move within Sony/BMG's ranks for talent. Battery's first crop of artists will be: Sunny Valentine from Texas, Sir Will from Atlanta, and Nashville's Lil' Goonie, signed to Jive/Zomba.

Battery will also welcome established artists still viable in the marketplace and who seek new situations that include non-traditional deal models. These models, intended to revitalize the flagging music industry and promote across multiple platforms, include: touring/ merchandising arrangements and DVD releases. Other tasks under the Battery banner include releasing material from the BMG catalogue, and overseeing the early-stage development of certain acts signed to labels such as RCA's J Records or Zomba's Jive Records.

"This will provide a broader platform and offer a greater margin of success for our evolving urban artists and new artists in general," said Tom Carrabba, Zomba Label Group's executive vice president and general manager.

DAMON DASH GOES INTO FORECLOSURE

Reports say that two of Damon Dash's Manhattan apartments have gone into foreclosure after the Roc-A-Fella co-founder failed to pay the mortgages

According to iht.com, the bank holding the mortgages says in a court filing that Dash and his wife Rachel Roy owe $7.3 million on the two properties.

Their monthly payments were listed as being $78,500 by Eastern Savings Bank.

Representatives for Damon Dash have yet to comment on the court filing

OMARION INKS DEAL WITH TIMBALAND'S LABEL

R&B star Omarion recently finalized a new record deal with Timbaland's Mosley Music Group.

In a recent interview with MTV.com, Omarion talked about the label switch and the rumors that he had been dropped by Sony.

"I asked to be released," he said of the rumors that Sony dropped him. "A release is different from a drop. When an artist is dropped, usually they haven't brought any revenue to the company. As you know, I've been with that company for a long time, roughly over six years. Throughout B2K and my solo albums, revenue was still brought in. An artist like me could never get dropped. How did I get dropped and I still ended up in a great situation? Usually when you hear 'drop,' it means, 'Oh, he's over.' It's a wrap. It's unfortunate that stuff like that gets put out there. Everybody likes to associate — especially me being such a cool dude — with negative things. Are you kidding me?"

Omarion also talks about the beginning stages of working with Timbaland on the new album.

"We're just picking each other's brains to see what can be done differently," Omarion said of working with Timbaland. "My energetic style and aggressiveness when I perform, I don't think that's necessarily been captured [for the length of] an album. I always felt like I had joints like 'Touch,' even 'Entourage,' where it's upbeat. But it hasn't been captured in an album. All these crazy new dances, all these different things I wanna do. When I look at my peers in the game, they capture the true essence of who they are. I kinda felt like throughout my career, I had just blots of that."

Omarion goes on to say that no release date for his first album with Timbaland's label has been decided on and the only producer he has worked with so far other than his label boss is Pharrell.