Mogul’s détente

MUSIC bigwig Doug

Morris is about to go back into business with Warner Music Group, the company that fired him in 1995.

Morris (inset), 79, whose last day as chairman of Sony Music was Friday, isn’t ready to retire. He’s launching a new record label, 12 Tone, and is reportedly close to signing a distribution deal with Warner.

“Why would Warner hire a guy they had fired for cause?” one industry veteran said. “How do these people get away with it?” After Morris filed a $50 million wrongful termination suit against Warner, the company cited a sales scandal at Atlantic Records, one of the labels under Morris’ supervision, where some employees allegedly sold compact discs under the table to distributors and retailers, pocketing the money. The sale of the so-called “cleans” cheated artists and songwriters out of royalties.

Warner had no comment, but an insider at the company said Morris’ firing was 23 years ago, and that he went on to run Universal and then Sony.

“There are many independent labels Warner distributes, about a hundred worldwide,” said my source. “He’s not a Warner employee. It’s not really a homecoming.”

Morris reportedly has leased offices in the New York Times building in Times Square and will sign Anderson Paak as his first artist.