ERNIE LAKE....THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK !

The Hudson Hotel has 60 Thompson to Hotel Gansevoort too ... what is it? It's that fabulous music that plays from your first step in the hotel to when you walk to your room. Ernie Lake has, with his partner Josh Katz, branded the so-called hip hotels with their own distinctive sounds. Says Lake, "We meet with the principals, like an Ian Schrager, to establish what they're going for and find the artists, the songs, put together the right music-theme for the location .... and, the customer can even buy the CD on their way out. It is basically branding the venue." Lake and Katz have also done the music for the HARD ROCK HOTEL in Vegas, TAO, the HAWAIIAN TROPIC ZONE is Times Square, and are on the verge of announcing a pact with a very prominent hotelier in Vegas. "Las Vegas is the new entertainment center of the world," says Lake, who's firm is based in NY, but he is opening a satellite office within the month. Lake, who's produced LIONEL RICHIE and CINDY LAUPER is also working on an album from SARAH MATHER, a participant on AMERICAN IDOL is the first season. "We're actually working on 2," adds Lake.