Who is Perez Hilton

Mario Lavandeira, known to millions of fans as the gossip blogger Perez Hilton, has a habit of humiliating celebrities he dislikes by doodling explicit images across their photos on his Web site. But he has also long used perezhilton.com to rave about his favorite new music. And now the results of his effusive postings - "you will be foaming at the mouth!" - have attracted the notice of a major record label.

Mr. Lavandeira has been negotiating a deal that would provide him with his own imprint at Warner Brothers Records, a division of the music giant Warner Music Group, he said. This was confirmed by several other people associated with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal has been made. The talks are preliminary, and an agreement is not certain, but Mr. Lavandeira could receive $100,000 a year as an advance against 50 percent of any profits generated by artists he discovers and releases through Warner Brothers, these people said.

A lawyer for Mr. Lavandeira and representatives of Warner Brothers declined to comment on the negotiations.

Though the agreement under discussion would represent a small sum for Warner Brothers, it would help support Mr. Lavandeira's claims that he has an ear for more than the latest celebrity scoop. More than that, though, a label deal for Mr. Lavandeira, whose Web site draws an estimated 2.8 million visitors a month, according to ComScore Media Metrix, would be a recognition of the influence that blogs can wield in generating word of mouth about music.

Early CD reviews on blogs and magazine-style Web sites like Pitchfork (pitchforkmedia.com) are generally coveted by music marketers. In a study conducted by researchers at the Stern School of Business at New York University, an examination of 108 albums that hit record shops in early 2007 determined that those that had been the subjects of 40 blog posts before their release date had sales of triple the average. But blogs, which sometimes post songs without permission, along with commentary, pose a tricky problem for music labels trying to maintain control in an increasingly fast-paced digital culture.

Jive Records, the label that Britney Spears records for, sued Mr. Lavandeira in October for posting unreleased tracks by Ms. Spears, some of which were unfinished. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, is still pending.

Mr. Lavandeira's seal of approval has proved valuable to more than one little-known act. In September the unsigned singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson found he had received a boost after Mr. Lavandeira posted a link to his music and lavished praise on it. Mr. Hutchinson's album cracked the Top 10 on iTunes, an impressive feat for an artist with no label backing. (Mr. Hutchinson had previously been signed to Maverick, a label affiliated with Warner Brothers.)

"There's so many outlets for so many musicians, but it's hard to get that extra push, or that extra exposure," said Sarah Hudson, a member of the fledgling dance-pop group Ultraviolet Sound, another act trumpeted by Mr. Lavandeira. In addition to roughly tripling the number of times visitors to the band's MySpace page click to play songs, she said, the exposure on perezhilton.com had prompted club promoters to book the band.

If Mr. Lavandeira sets up formal ties to a record label, can he still be an objective taste-maker? He seems to think so. In an interview last month, he said he would still have the freedom to rave about artists on rival labels and had no obligation to praise acts on Warner Brothers' roster.

"I'm upfront with them," he said. "They can't tell me what to do. If I hate one of their artists, chances are I won't mention them."

"There's no need to trash them," he added. "Unless they do something stupid."

Mr. Lavandeira enjoys sharing his passion for music with readers, he said, but "can't wait to do it on a larger level." His prospective label venture "is not a vanity project," he said.

"I'm really going to be actively involved in it," he added.

He said he wanted to keep the names of acts he hoped to sign to himself for the moment, but thought his partnership could validate the role that blogs and similar sites can play in the music business, which has been straining as sales melt down, and some stars leave major labels. Madonna, he noted, is departing Warner Music after her next album to release her future recordings through a concert promoter.

"I think I could do a lot for them," he said. "Madonna's leaving, Perez is coming."

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