“My plan here is very simple,” he said on a recent visit, leaning back in his sofa. “To help create the pre-eminent record company in the world.”

Mr. Morris, one of music’s reigning patriarchs, took over Sony in July, after 15 years at Universal. He is widely seen as the most capable hand to steady Sony’s music division, which has been plagued by internal quarrels since its merger with BMG in 2004. So far he has been aggressive in trying to remake the company, the home of artists like Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé and Usher.

At 72, his age and experience summon up the inevitable charge that as part of the industry’s old guard he is ill-equipped to thrive in the digital age. Mr. Morris rejects that notion, pointing out his role in creating Vevo, the hugely successful music video site.

Yet Mr. Morris is also an embodiment of one of the unchanging realities of the music business: that despite all the changes in technology, there is still money to be made in hits, and staying successful means holding on to a bigger piece of a shrinking pie. One way he has done that is hiring strong creative executives who can spot the next stars.

“He is a master at attracting and developing executive talent,” said Jon Landau, Mr. Springsteen’s manager. “No one is better at picking the people who pick the hit artists.”

Last Friday afternoon, after months of talks, Mr. Morris signed his first major new deal, with Dr. Luke, the pop producer behind big hits by Katy Perry and Kesha. It creates a record label, Kemosabe Records, to be financed by Sony and run by Dr. Luke in Los Angeles. And, perhaps most valuably, it also gives Sony exclusive rights to Dr. Luke’s services as a producer for five years.

Already sounding like a label boss, Dr. Luke said between the signing and the Champagne last Friday: “I plan to sign only artists that I really love and really want to work with. I also believe that songs are the bloodline of a label, so I will still be instrumental in creating and acquiring them.” Dr. Luke is a 38-year-old former guitarist with the “Saturday Night Live” band whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald.

Mr. Morris, a creature of habit, called the Dr. Luke deal an attempt “to duplicate a magic trick” 21 years ago — his bankrolling of Interscope Records, which was co-founded by the producer Jimmy Iovine and has become one of the most successful labels in the business. Dr. Luke, Mr. Morris said several times in an interview, is his new Jimmy.

“He’s the best guy at the moment, as far as a writer and a producer,” he said. “He and Jimmy are very different, but it’s the same kind of level of intellect and talent.”

In turn, Dr. Luke seemed ready to adopt Mr. Morris as a mentor.

“Doug has an amazing history, creating labels, finding talent,” he said. “I felt there is a lot I could learn from him.”

Mr. Iovine, for his part, said he was still close with Mr. Morris, but noted that they were now playing for different teams. “If we played on the Lakers and he got traded to the Knicks, I would still love him,” he said. “But when we get on the game floor, we still compete.”

Kemosabe will become Sony’s fourth label division, with Dr. Luke reporting directly to Mr. Morris. The label is expected to become operational in January, and Dr. Luke will have free rein to hire staff members and sign artists. One trade-off: because he can now produce only Sony artists, Dr. Luke will not be able to work with Ms. Perry, who records for EMI.

Mr. Morris started his career in the 1960s as a songwriter (he co-wrote the Chiffons’ “Sweet Talkin’ Guy”) and held top positions at Atlantic Records and the Warner Music Group before Edgar M. Bronfman Jr. hired him in 1995 to run the collection of labels that would become the Universal Music Group.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=6a1575506926a672307ec2bb3b5af23a