The new label's first release arrives this week, with FMU also dropping the debut album from Wonderland's Whyte Fang project this March.
Ethiopia Habtemariam oversaw the best period for the storied label in years. With her impending departure, questions for the future remain.
"It helped pull us out of the disco days and it became a whole new world," says one former Epic Records exec of the landmark album.
This move, says PIAS Group co-founder Kenny Gates, “makes us stronger."
The deal expands on an earlier partnership between the two that involved the [PIAS] distribution wing [Integral].
The respected label and publishing executive leaves after two decades at parent company Universal Music Group.
Pico Cibelli spent more than a decade at Sony Music Italy and another 10 years at Universal Music.
WMG's newest CEO, YouTube veteran Robert Kyncl, joins the company on Jan. 1
WMG's fourth quarter revenues grew 16% overall on strong recorded music and publishing growth.
The label says the signing is a major first step in its push to discover talent from the MENA region and introduce artists to global audiences.
