Charlie Walk Out As Epic President

Epic president Charlie Walk will exit his post at the end of the month, sources tell Billboard. His future plans have not yet been revealed.

While his future plans have not yet officially been revealed, sources tell R&R that Walk will remain firmly in the entertainment industry -- he has several television projects in development, including a pilot with Ryan Seacrest. Expect him to solidify his plans in January.

Walk took over at Epic in 2005. He had been executive VP of creative marketing and promotion for Columbia Records Group, where he started in 1990. During his tenure as president, Epic scored big hits from Shakira, the Fray, Sara Bareilles, Natasha Bedingfield and Sean Kingston.

But the label's market share has plummeted from 4.22% of current albums for the year ending 2005 to 1.58% for the year-to-date 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Beyond Walk, Epic is expected to lose some A&R and radio promo staffers as part of layoffs this week.

Source:http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz

Obama invites Shakira to sing at inauguration: El Comercio

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama invited Colombian singer Shakira to perform in the White House on the day of his inauguration in January 2009, Peruvian newspaper El Comercio reported Tuesday.

According to the newspaper, the upcoming U.S. President invited the star.

Shakira endorsed Obama's candidacy before the election. "It's an honor to receive so much support from someone that talented and a person that generous," Obama said about Shakira.

Source:http://colombiareports.com/colombian-news