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Top music law firm King Holmes Paterno & Soriano is firing back at a legal malpractice lawsuit filed by the band Sublime, arguing that the group has “falsely and maliciously” sued to get out of paying their hefty legal bills.
A month after Sublime sued its former attorneys — Howard King, Peter Paterno and Joseph M. Carlone — over allegations of a “pattern of self-dealing,” the firm filed a scathing countersuit Monday (Mar. 4). In it, they argue that the band still owes the firm $100,000 in fees after abruptly ending a decades-long attorney-client relationship.
“While Sublime had the right to terminate its lawyers at any time, it has no right to sidestep its responsibility to pay fees it incurred,” the firm wrote. “Yet, in an obvious and pathetic attempt to do exactly that, plaintiffs, presumably at the prodding of reputationally challenged new advisors, have cynically elected to file a trumped-up preemptive malpractice suit falsely and maliciously accusing the law firm of conflicts of interest they claim caused them unspecified damages.”
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The filing from King Holmes aimed to rebut many of Sublime’s specific allegations, including the band’s accusation that the firm steered it into a merchandise deal without disclosing that the company was another one of the firm’s clients — a move Sublime claimed cost the band millions.
In Monday’s filing, the firm said it had disclosed that potential conflict of interest to the band members and that they had consented to the arrangement. King Holmes said it even invited the band members’ personal attorneys to be involved in the negotiations to avoid any doubt.
“At the request of Sublime and its partners, KHPS helped secure a state-of-the-art merchandising agreement with one of the world’s few most preeminent music merchandisers, which also was Sublime’s merchandiser of choice,” the firm wrote. “That merchandiser paid and continues to pay Sublime higher royalties on a much broader range of products and with other more favorable terms than its main competitor offered.”
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano touts an eye-popping list of music industry clients, from Dr. Dre to Pharrell Williams to Blink-182 to the Tupac Shakur estate. King famously represented Williams and Robin Thicke in the “Blurred Lines” copyright case; Paterno represented Metallica in its legal battles against Napster over internet piracy.
But in late January, Sublime boldly announced that it was no longer one of those clients by filing a malpractice lawsuit. In it, the band claimed that the firm had “failed in their ethical, fiduciary, and lawyerly obligations to protect the interests of their clients,” including by “playing both sides” on multiple occasions.
“Behind their façade as music industry power brokers, KHPS’ number one priority was not their client Sublime’s legal and business goals, but rather KHPS’ own financial and business interests,” the band’s new attorneys wrote. “Despite holding themselves out to the public as highly experienced in the business side of music, … defendants engaged in a pattern of self-dealing that was rife with potential and actual, conflicts of interest.”
The case was filed by Sublime’s surviving members, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, as well as by the widow and son of Bradley Nowell, Sublime’s original lead singer who died of a drug overdose in 1996. The band’s corporate entities — Sublime Merchandising LLC and Jake And Troy Brand LLC — were also named as plaintiffs.
But in Monday’s countersuit, the firm said it had “diligently and loyally represented Sublime and its business interests” for decades, an arrangement from which the band “benefited greatly.” King Holmes said it had “successfully used its music industry knowledge and experience” to aid the band on a wide range of business ventures, from music deals to merchandising to film projects: “KHPS’ work empowered Sublime and its partners to preserve and capitalize on their most valuable assets, the band’s music and trademark.”
The firm went even further, suggesting that Sublime had perhaps been motivated by “predatory new advisors” to file baseless allegations in court.
“A cursory investigation done in good faith, had plaintiffs or their advisors cared to make the minimal effort needed to conduct one before pulling the litigation trigger, would have demonstrated what plaintiffs and their advisors already knew or should have known — that nothing could be further from the truth,” the firm wrote.
In technical terms, Monday’s filing accused Sublime and its surviving members of breach of contract and other related violations, saying they had violated their agreement by failing to pay the firm $108,852 in past-due legal bills. The case will be litigated alongside the original allegations filed in January.
An attorney for Sublime did not immediately return a request for comment.
London’s O2 Academy Brixton is set to reopen in April, more than a year after two people died and several people were seriously injured during a crowd stampede outside the venue.
Security guard Gaby Hutchinson and Rebecca Ikumelo were killed when fans without tickets tried to force their way into a sold-out concert by Nigerian singer Asake on Dec. 15, 2022.
A 22-year-old woman injured on the night remains in the hospital in critical condition. A police investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The famous South London venue, which has a capacity of just under 5,000 and has previously played host to everyone from David Bowie to Lady Gaga to The Clash, had faced the threat of permanent closure after the Metropolitan Police urged the local council to remove its license in the wake of the crush.
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Following a two-day hearing last September, Lambeth Council ruled that the venue would be allowed to host live music events again, but “only once it is compliant” with 77 new safety conditions, including stronger doors, new crowd management systems and new security and management.
During the hearing, much of which was held in private, it was revealed that O2 Academy Brixton owner and operator Academy Music Group (AMG) had spent £1.2 million ($1.5 million) on maintenance and improvements to the building during the period it was closed to the public.
At the time of the council’s decision, the venue’s owner, Academy Music Group (AMG), which runs 18 music venues across the United Kingdom, said it was “committed to ensuring” the tragic events of Dec. 15 “can never be repeated.”
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (Mar. 4), the venue announced that it will be reopening Friday, Apr. 19 with performances by tribute bands Nirvana UK and The Smyths, followed a week later by concerts from Definitely Mightbe (an Oasis tribute band) and the UK Foo Fighters.
Upcoming shows by The Black Keys and British indie rock band Editors, both scheduled for May, were also announced Monday.
“This is a significant moment not only for the venue itself but for the entire live music industry,” said Michael Kill, CEO of industry trade group the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), in a statement welcoming the news.
“Brixton Academy holds a special place in the hearts of music lovers, artists, and industry professionals alike,” said Kill, adding: “Its reopening marks a symbolic resurgence of the night-time economy, signalling a return to the vibrant cultural landscape we all enjoy.”
Prior to last year’s council hearing, more than 110,000 people signed an online petition to save the historic venue, which first opened in 1929 as a cinema and began hosting live music gigs in the early 1980s.
Capitol Music Group co-president Arjun Pulijal has stepped down from his role after 11 years at the company, he announced in an internal memo obtained by Billboard.
The move comes amid a broader executive shakeup atop the company, as former CMG chair/CEO Michelle Jubelirer stepped down from her role on Feb. 6, with Geffen president Tom March coming in to replace her and UMPG veteran Lilia Parsa named co-president the following day.
Pulijal was named CMG president by Jubelirer in January 2022, shortly after she ascended to the top role. Prior to that, Pulijal had run the marketing department at Capitol Records; he initially joined Capitol in 2013 after a seven-year stint at Epic Records.
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“Today marks my 11 year anniversary at Capitol Music Group,” Pulijal wrote in the memo. “[Eleven] years of aspiring to help artists of all types in whatever way I could. [Eleven] years of a commitment to honor an iconic music company’s legacy and embrace disruption to modernize it in equal measure. [Eleven] years of working with incredible people and building relationships that transcend the word ‘colleague.’ … It is surreal and difficult to say goodbye to a company I’ve called home for over a decade. I’ve had the unique experience of growing my career at Capitol. From campaign builder to artist confidant to leader, I’ve seen this company through many lenses.”
Pulijal’s departure comes days after Capitol’s parent company Universal Music Group began the process of laying off dozens of people at Capitol and other labels as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s label divisions, which UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge first announced Feb. 1 and which was confirmed Feb. 28. As part of that overhaul, Interscope Geffen A&M chairman/CEO John Janick received oversight of Interscope, Geffen, Capitol, Motown, Priority, Verve and Blue Note, while Republic Records CEO Monte Lipman will oversee Republic, Def Jam, Island and Mercury.
“I feel for all of those people exiting the company this past week, many of whom didn’t have the luxury of choice like I did,” Pulijal wrote, nodding to the layoffs at Capitol. “Know that you and I are leaving on a high note. You were all a vital part of the success we had over the last few years in particular. We built a company based on a shared love of music, artistry, creativity, diversity, transparency, empathy, and efficiency in a complex and unforgiving marketplace… and we had historic success doing it. I will carry those values forward into the future, to wherever my journey goes from here. When I figure it out, you all will be the first to know.”
Read Pulijal’s full memo below.
Today marks my 11 year anniversary at Capitol Music Group.
11 years of aspiring to help artists of all types in whatever way I could.
11 years of a commitment to honor an iconic music company’s legacy and embrace disruption to modernize it in equal measure.
11 years of working with incredible people and building relationships that transcend the word ‘colleague’.
In a bittersweet & appropriately full-circle turn of events, today I am announcing that I have made the decision to leave my position as President of Capitol Music Group.
It is surreal and difficult to say goodbye to a company I’ve called home for over a decade. I’ve had the unique experience of growing my career at Capitol. From campaign builder to artist confidant to leader, I’ve seen this company through many lenses. We’ve always valued storytelling to help artists connect with audiences, so I of course couldn’t depart without telling a story:
When I assumed the position of President, I received many notes of congratulations from past Capitol employees that I’d never met, many of whom worked for the company decades ago and had long since departed. It was evident that this iconic company continues to hold such an important place in people’s lives and music history. One such note pointed out that I was named President exactly 50 years after the legendary late Bhaskar Menon held the same position. As a person of Indian descent and one of the (sadly) few AAPI leaders in music, knowing that someone with my same cultural background succeeded in this role was beyond inspiring. I read everything I could about his intrepid life and career, including speaking with colleagues and his family. While he achieved monumental success with artists and records, it was clear the most enduring part of his legacy was how he treated people. He embraced constructive confrontation, leading with honesty and grace. These were virtues I always aimed to honor.
It’s about people first.
When artists ask me why they need a label, I always say “it’s about the people.”
I feel for all of those people exiting the company this past week, many of whom didn’t have the luxury of choice like I did. Know that you and I are leaving on a high note. You were all a vital part of the success we had over the last few years in particular. We built a company based on a shared love of music, artistry, creativity, diversity, transparency, empathy, and efficiency in a complex and unforgiving marketplace….and we had historic success doing it. I will carry those values forward into the future, to wherever my journey goes from here. When I figure it out, you all will be the first to know.
I leave with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the artists and staff, & wish the new leadership – John Janick, Steve Berman, Tom March, & Lillia Parsa – nothing but the best moving forward. I will be available to help in the background with transition over the coming weeks before officially departing later this month.
Thank You.
Earth, Wind & Fire has won its trademark lawsuit against a tribute act that used the legendary R&B group’s name without permission, with a federal judge ruling that the evidence pointed “overwhelmingly” in the band’s favor.
In a decision released on Monday, a Miami federal judge ruled that the tribute group infringed Earth, Wind & Fire’s intellectual property rights by calling themselves “Earth, Wind & Fire Legacy Reunion.” He called the band’s marketing “deceptive and misleading.”
In particular, the judge cited angry social media posts and emails from fans who attended the “Reunion” shows because they thought it was the original band – proof of the kind of “actual confusion” that’s crucial evidence in a trademark lawsuit.
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“It is not a far cry to think that an average consumer looking for an Earth, Wind & Fire concert would believe that they could acquire that experience from either plaintiff or defendants,” Judge Federico A. Moreno wrote.
Earth, Wind & Fire has continued to tour since founder Maurice White died in 2016, led by longtime members Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson and White’s brother, Verdine White. The band operates under a license from an entity called Earth Wind & Fire IP, a holding company controlled by Maurice White’s sons that formally owns the rights to the name.
Last year, that company filed the current lawsuit, accusing Legacy Reunion of trying to trick consumers into thinking it was the real Earth, Wind & Fire. Though it called itself a “Reunion,” the lawsuit said the tribute band contained only a few “side musicians” who had briefly played with Earth, Wind & Fire many years ago.
“Defendants did this to benefit from the commercial magnetism and immense goodwill the public has for plaintiff’s ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ marks and logos, thereby misleading consumers and selling more tickets at higher prices,” the group’s lawyers wrote at the time.
Tribute acts — groups that exclusively cover the music of a particular band — are legally allowed to operate, and they often adopt names that allude to the original. But they must make clear that they are only a tribute band, and they can get into legal hot water if they make it appear that they are affiliated with or endorsed by the original.
In Monday’s decision, Judge Moreno ruled that Legacy Reunion had done exactly that – particularly with its references to a “Reunion” and claims that the performers were former members of Earth, Wind & Fire. The judge said the later addition of “Alumni” and other reformulations of the name were not enough.
“While the court understands there is dispute on how prominent of a role the musicians performing in [Legacy Reunion] played in the Earth, Wind & Fire group, defendants advertisements draw a close, unmistakable association with Earth, Wind & Fire to a degree unwarranted by the historical record,” the judge wrote.
“Regardless of if defendants’ musicians were technically sidemen or members, the advertisement and marketing were still deceptive and misleading as to whether the main (or most prominently known) members of the band would be performing,” Judge Moreno wrote.
The judge cited numerous complaints from Earth, Wind & Fire fans who had allegedly been confused by Legacy Reunion’s name. In one email, a fan said the name was “misleading” because they had attended the show “in the hopes of seeing Philip Bailey, Verdine White and others from the original band.” Another email complained that the tribute band was a ‘bait and switch.’ In a Facebook post, another fan said: “If the three remaining original members are not in this tour, this is basically a rip-off!”
In technical terms, Monday’s ruling decided that Legacy Reunion had violated Earth, Wind & Fire’s trademarks, but did not decide how much they must now pay in damages. That issue will be left for a future trial, which is currently scheduled for May. In the meantime, Judge Moreno said that Legacy Reunion would be barred from doing anything that would infringe Earth, Wind & Fire’s trademarks.
Neither side’s attorneys immediately returned request for comment on Monday.
LONDON — Hipgnosis Songs Fund has cut the value of its portfolio by more than a quarter and told investors that it does not intend to recommence paying dividends “for the foreseeable future” as it focuses on paying down debts.
The London-listed fund, which owns full or partial rights to the song catalogs of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Justin Bieber and Blondie, among many others, announced the updated valuation on Monday (March 4).
It follows a detailed review of the company’s portfolio “on a bottom-up basis” by Shot Tower, which was appointed following a public fallout between the firm’s board and its investment advisor, the Merck Mercuriadis-led Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM), over the fund’s worth.
In a financial filing, Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) said Shot Tower’s preliminary report estimates the fair market value of the company’s portfolio at between $1.8 billion and $2.06 billion (and $1.74 billion and $2 billion after deducting contingent catalog bonuses of just under $60 million).
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Shot Tower gave a midpoint valuation of $1.93 billion, reflecting a multiple of 15.9x net royalty income, which is around 26% lower than the valuation of September 2023.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund said the new valuation was based on a range of criteria, including whether a catalog was made up of publisher, writer, producer or artist’s share of rights royalties. Shot Tower’s report also took into account royalty income streams and administration rights or copyrights due to be returned to the firm in future years, the fund said.
The firm’s cash net revenue (after third party royalty reductions and administration expenses) was $121.7 million for the 12-month royalty statement period ended June 30, 2023, according to Shot Tower’s analysis.
When adjusted solely for the new valuation, the company’s operative net asset value would be approximately $1.17 (92p) per share, compared to the last reported net asset value of $1.7392 (137p) per share at the end of September, the firm reported.
As a result of the decrease, the board said that it would be using free cashflow to pay down debt “and, therefore, does not intend to recommence paying dividends for the foreseeable future.”
In a statement accompanying the filing, Hipgnosis Songs Fund chairman Robert Naylor said the company’s newly constituted board “is making good progress with the due diligence work” underpinning its ongoing strategic review and that the board “remains focused on identifying all options to deliver shareholder value.”
Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s share price initially fell by 11% to £0.56 on Monday morning following the news.
The slashed valuation represents another blow for HSF, which underwent a turbulent end to 2023 and just-as-rocky start to the year.
In October, shareholders voted against the music royalties fund’s proposed $440 million deal to sell 29 catalogues to Hipgnosis Songs Capital – a partnership between investment giant Blackstone and the fund’s investment adviser Hipgnosis Song Management – citing the lack of an “up-to-date” valuation.
The same month’s annual meeting of shareholders also saw a majority of investors vote against a resolution “to continue running the fund in its current form” — a so-called “continuation vote” — commencing a six-month countdown for the board to come up with a plan “for the reconstruction, reorganisation, or winding-up of the company.”
That led to the installation of a new executive board with Naylor replacing Andrew Sutch as chairman, while last month shareholders passed a special resolution that authorizes the payment of up to 20 million pounds ($25 million) to prospective bidders seeking to acquire the fund’s assets. The fund hopes that the enticement of a large fee will help draw potential bidders to acquire some of the company’s catalogs.
February also saw Mercuriadis step down as chief executive officer of Hipgnosis Song Management to take up a newly created chairman role with Ben Katovsky replacing him as CEO.
Shot Tower is due to present its final due diligence findings to the firm’s board later this month.
Natascha Augustin, who was named managing director of Warner Chappell Music Germany in January, started at the company as a half-time intern, rotating among various departments. She didn’t yet know what she wanted to do, and when an executive asked her, “I said I wanted to be a bookkeeper,” she remembers with a laugh. “Because there were two old ladies there who every afternoon ate cake.”
“He said, ‘You are not a bookkeeper’ – he knew better.” So, she became an A&R assistant at Warner Chappell in Munich.
The way Augustin talks about music publishing in Germany – the only big country in which Warner Chappell is No. 1 by market share, with 27.8%, according to Official German Charts data – it’s actually hard to imagine her doing anything else. And aside from internships in New York at Matador Records and Beggars Group, and a short stint at Warner Chappell in LA., she really hasn’t.
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Augustin owes much of her success to the rise of German hip-hop – Deutschrap – now the country’s biggest genre by market share. Years ago, Augustin got a call from Farid Bang, a German rapper of Moroccan-Spanish descent, who asked her about a publishing deal. At the time, “German rap was the enfant terrible of the music industry,” remembers Augustin, sitting in the airy listening room of Warner Music Central Europe’s new Berlin headquarters, but “I met with him and his story was interesting – he had done it all himself.”
At a time when the genre was still dominated by imported American stars, indie labels and underground artists, Augustin went all in. “People would call him” – Bang – “and he’d send them to me,” Augustin says. “I just met them on an equal level.”
In 2010, Augustin was named head of A&R. (She was subsequently promoted to Senior Creative Director and then vice president.) Within a decade, Warner Chappell had the No. 1 market share in Germany. This implies an even more impressive record of success with German songwriters given that the company is No. 3 globally and gets less market share in Germany from global music than its competitors.
In some cases, Augustin says, she became “the main point of contact in the industry” for rappers that had independent label or distribution deals. But she also signed a number of major label stars, including Capital Bra, Luciano and Apache 207 – who, with iconic singer Udo Lindenberg had the No. 1 single of 2023, “Komet.” (The song was written in part by Apache 207 and the producer Sira, another Augustin signing.) In 2023, she signed the superstar Shirin David, who might be thought of as a Made-in-Germany Nicki Minaj. “Shirin was very influential,” says Augustin, who still lives in Munich but also spends considerable time in Warner Music Central Europe’s offices in Hamburg and Berlin. “She brought the American rap idea here for women.”
In 2021, Augustin also played a key role in launching Atlantic Records in Berlin as a label focused on German hip-hop – an unusual joint role in recorded music for a publishing executive. She leveraged her connections in hip-hop to sign Yung Hurn, DJ Stickle, and Lil Zey, among others, but with the hiring of an executive to lead Atlantic and Augustin’s promotion, she’s now free to focus exclusively on publishing. One priority for the year ahead is Ayliva, a young rap star who writes her own songs and was the second-most-streamed artist last year after Taylor Swift.
Raphael Saadiq has signed with Forward Artist Management, Billboard has learned exclusively. The new agreement with the Los Angeles-based firm follows in the wake of the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter-producer’s latest success: co-writing and co-producing Beyoncé’s first Hot 100 No. 1 country single, “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
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Forward Artist Management head Tyler Childs tells Billboard, “Raphael is one-of-one. He’s been making history, creating some of the biggest musical moments of the last 30 years. He continues to write and rewrite the playbook on what an elite artist, producer, songwriter and creative is. The entire FAM team is thrilled to support him and excited to get to work.”
In addition to “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Saadiq co-wrote and co-produced Beyoncé’s concurrently released country single “16 Carriages.” He also won the best R&B song Grammy last year for Beyoncé’s “Cuff It,” which he co-wrote and produced for her most recent album Renaissance. A founding member of seminal R&B trio Tony! Toni! Toné! — which reunited in 2023 for a sold-out national theater tour, its first in 25 years — Saadiq has worked with a diverse slate of superstar artists during his lengthy career. That roster includes Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Usher, Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige and Solange.
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His latest project as a solo artist was 2019’s Jimmy Lee. He also co-wrote the Academy Award-nominated song “Mighty River,” from the film Mudbound, with Blige and Tara Stinson. Saadiq is represented by Tim Mandelbaum of Fox Rothschild.
Forward Artists’ Childs also manages RZA and The Wu-Tang Clan, who launched the first-ever hip-hop residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas last month with two more dates scheduled for March 22-23. Additional Forward Artist clients include Benjamin Booker (managed by Jacob Greene), Tyler Cole and Sarah Cothran.
Prior to Forward Artist Management, Childs served as vp of A&R/creative at Sony ATV Music Publishing. While there, he worked with artists and songwriters such as Ilsey Juber (Panic at the Disco’s “High Hopes,” Shawn Mendes’ “Mercy” and Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus’ “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart”), Walk the Moon (“Shut Up and Dance”), Imagine Dragons (“Whatever it Takes”) and Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo (“Time of Our Lives”). Other artists that Childs collaborated with include Clairo, James Blake and Tegan and Sara.
The European Union leveled its first antitrust penalty against Apple on Tuesday, fining the U.S. tech giant nearly $2 billion for breaking the bloc’s competition laws by unfairly favoring its own music streaming service over rivals.
Apple banned app developers from “fully informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services outside of the app,” said the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer.
That is illegal under EU antitrust rules. Apple behaved this way for almost a decade, which meant many users paid “significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions,” the commission said.
The 1.8 billion-euro fine follows a long-running investigation triggered by a complaint from Swedish streaming service Spotify five years ago.
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The EU has led global efforts to crack down on Big Tech companies, including a series of multbillion-dollar fines for Google and charging Meta with distorting the online classified ad market. The commission also has opened a separate antitrust investigation into Apple’s mobile payments service.
The commission’s investigation initially centered on two concerns. One was the iPhone maker’s practice of forcing app developers that are selling digital content to use its in-house payment system, which charges a 30% commission on all subscriptions.
But the EU later dropped that to focus on how Apple prevents app makers from telling their users about cheaper ways to pay for subscriptions that don’t involve going through an app.
The investigation found that Apple banned streaming services from telling users about how much subscription offers cost outside of their apps, including links in their apps to pay for alternative subscriptions or even emailing users to tell them about different pricing options.
The fine comes the same week that new EU rules are set to kick in that are aimed at preventing tech companies from dominating digital markets.
The Digital Markets Act, due to take effect Thursday, imposes a set of do’s and don’ts on “gatekeeper” companies including Apple, Meta, Google parent Alphabet, and TikTok parent ByteDance — under threat of hefty fines.
The DMA’s provisions are designed to prevent tech giants from the sort of behavior that’s at the heart of the Apple investigation. Apple has already revealed how it will comply, including allowing iPhone users in Europe to use app stores other than its own and enabling developers to offer alternative payment systems.
The commission also has opened a separate antitrust investigation into Apple’s mobile payments service, and the company has promised to open up its tap-and-go mobile payment system to rivals in order to resolve it.
It’s been a nerve-wracking week for Universal Music Group employees — many did not know when they went to the office on Wednesday morning if they’d have a job on Friday. Layoffs hit department heads first and then started to impact the rank and file.
Over the past year, more than a dozen companies across the music business have undergone layoffs, eliminating thousands of jobs and leaving those who remain in a state of uncertainty. In the past twelve months alone, Warner Music Group, Atlantic Music Group, SiriusXM, Amazon Music, TikTok Music, CAA, Discord, BMG, TIDAL and Spotify have all cut staff.
This week, Universal Music Group followed suit, instituting layoffs in search of around $270 million in annual savings. The process started Wednesday and continued through Friday (March 1), impacting publicity departments, radio teams, A&R, marketing and more.
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The cuts are part of a restructure of UMG’s label operations that chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge announced in an internal memo on Feb. 1. The shift reorganized the company loosely into an East Coast-West Coast orientation, with Republic Records CEO Monte Lipman overseeing Republic, Def Jam, Island and Mercury, and Interscope Geffen A&M chairman/CEO John Janick responsible for Interscope, Geffen, Capitol, Motown, Priority, Verve and Blue Note.
For UMG employees, the long runway leading into the layoffs — which were first hinted at back in October — combined with the fact that the company announced on Wednesday morning that it had earned more than $12 billion in revenue and $1.3 billion in net profit in 2023, has caused frustration, anger and anxiety, even for those who kept their jobs. That the layoffs came immediately following the annual earnings report, sources say, has led to greater frustration.
Though the scenes employees describe are typical for any company undergoing large-scale layoffs — the slow drip of news about who’s been let go, and colleagues crying as they pack up their desks, for example — UMG’s layoffs have had an outsized impact on industry morale because of the label’s position as the dominant market leader, its strong financial results and the extended period for which employees have known the cuts were coming.
In an email to staff, Grange said that “by reimagining our global structure, we are creating a blueprint for a future where our labels are empowered with new capabilities and additional agility, ensuring they can sign and support artists with enhanced access to UMG’s highest-performing internal teams and resources.” He added, “This organizational redesign represents a new paradigm for artist support and fan engagement.”
UMG first signaled its cuts during an earnings call with financial analysts at the end of October. “[We] are currently conducting a careful review of our cost base, which we will complete over the coming months, and we will update you when appropriate about an anticipated cost savings program to commence in 2024,” said Boyd Muir, the company’s executive vp and CFO. Grainge added that the company planned to “cut overheads in order to grow elsewhere.”
Earnings calls are, by nature, full of statistics and jargon like “adjusted EBITDA.” In January, the human cost of “cutting overhead” started to become clear: That would mean laying off hundreds of employees. In a statement at the time, UMG said “we are creating efficiencies in other areas of the business so we can remain nimble and responsive to the dynamic market, while realizing the benefits of our scale.”
The October earnings call did not make big headlines at the time. But many employees saw the January reports that layoffs were looming. “Every day I wake up thinking, is this the day I lose my job?” a UMG employee said in February.
“It is a particular kind of torture to leave people guessing for an extended period of time,” adds a music lawyer who has artist clients signed to UMG labels. “Your job is your No. 1 source of security. You add on top of already stressed individuals’ psyche the uncertainty of whether or not they’re gonna have a job tomorrow and draw that out for months.”
A UMG spokesperson declined to disclose any headcount for the cuts. In the meantime, sources say executives and department heads have received some generous exit packages on their way out the door.
For others outside the labels who work with them on behalf of clients, the layoffs — at UMG, at Warner, where dozens were recently let go at Atlantic Records, and amid rumors that other labels will be following suit — have also made life difficult. With UMG specifically, one manager with an artist signed to a UMG label says that the stress permeating the labels has made it hard to plan a rollout for his act. And a second music attorney notes that it’s been hard to do record deals within the UMG system knowing that the teams his artist speaks with may not be around by the time the deal is done.
Artist teams are also trying to understand how the cuts impact them. “The more I hear, the more stressed I am,” says another manager. There are “lots of firings across different positions. Some people are getting moved into jobs they aren’t in any way prepared for. And some people are now being asked to do what was previously three different jobs at once.”
There are more cuts to come in a “phase two” of the “strategic organizational redesign” next year, according to UMG’s investor presentation this week, which stated that “a combination of further ex-U.S. headcount reduction and other operational efficiencies” was set to begin in 2025. But not a single financial analyst asked questions about the extent of the layoffs on Wednesday. Instead, they asked about UMG’s battle with TikTok.
Nas wants to bring a state-of-the-art casino to his home borough of Queens.
On Thursday (Feb. 29), the rap legend was on hand to unveil the $5 billion vision for Resorts World‘s Aqueduct Park in Southeast Queens as the company hopes to win a license from New York State to break ground on the project. If granted, the casino is expected to be one of the largest in the world at 350,000 square feet.
“This is an ambitious project that will give new opportunities to the hard-working families who call Queens home, attract top-tier talent, and build up the next generation of leaders,” said Nas, who has partnered with Resorts World to help promote the project, in a statement. “Clearly, with this project, the world is ours.”
The “Queens Get the Money” rapper reportedly added at the unveiling: “It’s an honor to be here, to be a part of this with Resorts World, realizing the future, seeing what this can be and what it will be.”
Since Resorts World gained access to the land and infrastructure in 2010, it has been preparing to one day build a multi-functional casino. There are plans for a 7,000-seat capacity entertainment venue to host events and concerts as well.
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Park space, housing, hotels, restaurants and renovated transit options to JFK Airport and Manhattan are also part of the grand vision, which could create 5,000 union jobs.
Two-time NBA champion and current TNT basketball analyst Kenny “The Jet” Smith also endorsed the project; the plan includes building a sports academy with facilities named after the former Houston Rocket player.
“Resorts World came to me with a clear goal of fostering tomorrow’s athletes, student athletes and leaders both on and off the court,” said Smith in a statement. “Their investment in this Academy will help us teach the next generation the nuances of the game on and off the court, as well as the social, economic, and cultural impact of sports. I’m thrilled to partner with them to improve the borough that raised me and take it to the next level.”
Per The New York Times, Resorts World as well as Yonkers’ Empire City are expected to receive two out of the three licenses granted by New York State. That would not bode well for JAY-Z’s Times Square casino bid in Manhattan.
Watch an ad starring Nas for the Queens Resorts World Casino proposal below.