layoffs
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A number of staffers at CMT, the Nashville-based country music and lifestyle programming network, have been let go as part of a broad swath of staff cuts taking place at Paramount Global.
Billboard has learned that among the music and talent team leaving are Stacey Cato (director of music and talent), Quinn Brown (vp of production), Ray Sells (senior director of production), Jennifer DeVault (senior producer), Jordan Walker (senior manager of music and talent), Abbi Roth (senior manager of music and talent) and Bryana Cielo (executive assistant), as well as Heather Graffagnino, vp of production management.
Among those remaining are Margaret Comeaux (senior vp of music and events production), Donna Duncan (vp of music and talent), Melissa Goldberg (vp of digital and social), Yasmin Mohammed (producer) and David Bennett (creative director).
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Sources say that Paramount will continue to support CMT and is positioning the outlet for the future, but what that looks like is unclear.
This week, Paramount Global began a second round of staff cuts, as it continues its aim of reducing its U.S. workforce by 15%, seemingly in preparation for the company’s planned merger with Skydance Media. In a memo to staffers on Monday (Sept. 24), Paramount’s co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins stated, “Like the entire media industry, we are working to accelerate streaming profitability while at the same time adjusting to the evolving landscape in our traditional businesses. In order to set Paramount up for continued success, we are taking these actions. Days like today are never easy. It is difficult to say goodbye to valued colleagues, and to those departing, we are incredibly grateful for your countless contributions.”
The cuts come as the company, like many legacy media companies, is seeing a decline in linear television viewership and advertising, and consumers continue to move toward streaming video and digital.
In June, Paramount cut nearly all the content roles across its CMT, MTV, Comedy Central and TV Land websites, while storied news site MTVnews.com was taken down. During a town hall on June 25, McCarthy noted that Paramount’s revenue had grown by 13% between 2018 and 2023, while the company’s operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) has fallen 61% during that same time frame. Thus, they are aiming at cutting $500 million in costs.
Country radio trade publication Country Aircheck first reported a number of the layoffs.
Reps for Paramount Global had not responded to Billboard‘s request for confirmation by press time.
Warner Music Group is going through a transformational year by cutting costs, reducing its headcount and restructuring some label groups to save an estimated $260 million on an annualized basis, the company disclosed Thursday (Sept. 19).
According to a Warner Music Group SEC filing that details the reduction in headcount and financial impact of the company’s ongoing restructuring plan, the total head count reduction increased from 600 after February’s announcement to 750 people with Thursday’s update. The filing did not specify that all 150 additional job losses could be attributed to the Atlantic Music Group layoffs announced Thursday. Billboard’sinitial report on the layoffs stated that between 150 and 175 people would be affected.
WMG also updated the pre-tax cost savings, on an annualized basis, from “about $200 million” to “about $260 million,” meaning the company expects to save an additional $60 million annually. The restructuring plan’s severance costs increased $70 million to $210 million. The “significant majority” of severance payments and other termination costs from this year’s restructuring are expected to be paid by the end of fiscal 2026, according to the filing. WMG will pay approximately $30 million in the current fiscal year (ending Sept. 30) and about $85 million in fiscal 2025.
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“WMG is transforming swiftly this year, in a fast-paced, fiercely competitive industry,” CEO Robert Kyncl wrote Thursday in an internal memo to staff. “As always, delivering outstanding results for artists and songwriters is our highest priority in all our choices.”
WMG began its restructuring plan in February by announcing it would sell its owned and operated media properties and eliminate some corporate and support roles. As Billboard reported at the time, WMG reduced its headcount by 10% of the company’s workforce, or 600 people. Not all of that reduction in staff was the result of layoffs, however. Uproxx, HipHopDX and Dime Magazine were sold to a duo of media veterans: Uproxx founder and CEO Jarret Myer and Complex founder and CEO Rich Antoniello, in consortium with musician will.i.am.
This latest round of layoffs came two weeks before 10K Projects founder and CEO Elliot Grainge assumes the position of Atlantic Music Group CEO on Oct. 1 (the first day of WMG’s new fiscal year). Atlantic chairman/CEO Julie Greenwald announced her departure just five days after WMG announced Grainge would take the helm. Separately, Max Lousada, the London-based CEO of recorded music for WMG, stepped down and his role was eliminated. Kevin Liles, current chairman and CEO of 300 Elektra Entertainment, is also exiting the company without replacement.
Atlantic’s ranks were further thinned on Thursday with the departures of high-level executives at both Atlantic Records and Elektra Records, including Atlantic executive vp/GM Paul Sinclair and co-president of Black music Michael Kyser, as well as head of marketing Grace James, head of press and media Sheila Richman and head of touring Harlan Frey. At Elektra, head of business and legal affairs Margo Scott, head of marketing Katie Robinson, head of sales and streaming Adam Abramson, head of promotion and streaming Aimee Vaughan-Fruehe and co-head of Roadrunner Records Chris Brown were all also let go.
Atlantic Records announced more staff layoffs on Thursday (Sept. 19) as the process of remaking the company continues.
“I want to acknowledge the hard work, passion, and creativity of everyone across Atlantic, 300, and Elektra,” CEO Robert Kyncl said in a staff memo obtained by Billboard. “In particular, I want to thank the people who will be leaving us. You’ve made an indelible mark on this company and the careers of the extraordinary artists you’ve championed. Words never cut it in these situations but we’re forever grateful for all your contributions and achievements over the years.”
These cuts follow the announcement in August of a significant executive restructuring: 10K Projects founder Elliot Grainge will take over as CEO of Atlantic Music Group, starting October 1. As part of his promotion, 10K will move under the Atlantic Music Group umbrella — joining Atlantic Records, Elektra and 300 — while veteran executive and longtime Atlantic leader Julie Greenwald will be heading for the exit. Kyncl’s memo promised that the company will “be unveiling a new dynamic structure for the label group” next week.
The memo did not say how many Atlantic employees were being let go. Sources expect the layoffs to be significant and to affect multiple departments.
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Kyncl has been busy retooling WMG since he took over at the start of 2023. That metamorphosis has come hand in hand with layoffs; Atlantic’s latest cuts are the fourth round in the extended Warner Music Group family in roughly 18 months.
The company laid off 4% of staff, or about 270 people, including several at Atlantic, in March 2023. “To take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us, we need to make some hard choices in order to evolve,” Kyncl wrote in a memo to staff at the time. In February of this year, WMG laid out plans to cut another 10% of staff, primarily from the company’s media properties — like Uproxx and HipHopDX, which it acquired in August 2018 — as well some in corporate and support roles.
The same month, Atlantic initiated an additional round of layoffs, albeit much smaller in scope, cutting roughly two dozen employees in the radio and video departments. “As hard as it is to say goodbye to our friends and valued colleagues, it is critical that we keep retooling the company and add new resources and skill sets to our business units,” Greenwald wrote in an email at the time.
Greenwald is now on her way out. So is WMG CEO of Recorded Music Max Lousada; his role is not being replaced. Similarly, 300 Entertainment co-founder and current chairman/CEO of 300 Elektra Entertainment Kevin Liles is also exiting the company without replacement. Other executives are also expected to depart as part of this restructuring, sources say.
This is just part of the change sweeping the company as Kyncl seeks a “flatter structure.” Warner Records will now also oversee Warner Music Nashville moving forward, and the heads of global catalog, marketing, ADA (distribution) and WMX (the fan and merch division) will all report directly to Kyncl.
All three major label groups have gone through changes this year. In February, the Universal Music Group reorganized its label divisions into a loose East Coast-West Coast structure, aligning Republic, Island, Def Jam and Mercury under Republic Recording Company chairman/CEO Monte Lipman and Interscope, Geffen and Capitol under Interscope Capitol Labels Group chairman/CEO John Janick, moves that came with some significant layoffs. Sony Music also underwent layoffs this year, though not to the same extent as the other two companies, sources have said.
Read Kyncl’s full memo below:
Hi everyone,
Since we announced Julie would be stepping down, we’ve been thoughtfully working on how to evolve Atlantic Music Group for the future. Next week, we will be unveiling a new dynamic structure for the label group. Elliot begins as CEO of AMG on October 1.
As part of this reorganization, we will unfortunately be saying goodbye to talented people. I know you have been waiting to hear the plan, and rather than carry out changes piecemeal, we decided to make these difficult choices in one go.
Today will be a tough day, and by 9pm ET you will have heard if your job is affected. Your leaders and the People team will provide you with all the important details. We are committed to helping those impacted through this with the utmost respect, and supporting them with a runway during the transition.
I want to acknowledge the hard work, passion, and creativity of everyone across Atlantic, 300, and Elektra. In particular, I want to thank the people who will be leaving us. You’ve made an indelible mark on this company and the careers of the extraordinary artists you’ve championed. Words never cut it in these situations but we’re forever grateful for all your contributions and achievements over the years. We wish you the very best and know that you will continue to do great things in your next chapters.
WMG is transforming swiftly this year, in a fast-paced, fiercely competitive industry. As always, delivering outstanding results for artists and songwriters is our highest priority in all our choices.
As I mentioned, you will hear more about our plan for AMG next week, with Elliot making an announcement about the leadership team. In the meantime, we have so much incredible music in the market, and some outstanding projects on the way. Your continued support of teammates is amazing, and your run-through-walls focus on the music is extraordinary.
Thank you and take care,
Robert
Sonos is letting go of 6% of its workforce — more than 100 people — after a disastrous redesign of their app and mounting customer complaints forced the company to lower its projected sales and delay product launches. The layoffs, first reported by The Verge, were announced in a company filing on Wednesday (Aug. 14). […]
The music business is seeing the results of doing more with less.
The slew of earnings reports over the past two weeks have revealed that companies achieved better margins and greater profitability — even in cases with lower revenue or disappointing growth in some areas. And nearly all these companies share one important thing in common that boosted their latest earnings results: layoffs.
Universal Music Group’s share price fell 24% the day after its second-quarter earnings showed recorded music subscription growth had slowed to 6.9%, down from 12.5% in the prior-year period. Investors are interested in music companies because streaming has transformed the industry, bringing growth in the wake of falling CD and download sales and opening new markets around the world. So, when the industry’s most attractive revenue stream stumbles, investors are going to take notice.
But despite the hiccup that wreaked havoc on its share price, many of UMG’s financial metrics showed the company is headed in the right direction. Revenue grew a hearty 9.6%; adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 11.3%; and adjusted earnings per share rose to 0.44 euros ($0.47), up from 0.42 euros ($0.45) a year earlier. Setting aside the main reason investors want to own UMG shares — the global music subscription business — UMG’s earnings had a lot of positives, some of which undoubtedly had to do with the layoffs that occurred in February. According to the company’s 2023 investor presentation, that round of job cuts is expected to save 75 million euros ($81 million) in 2024 alone.
In other earnings news, Spotify — which cut roughly a quarter of its global workforce in three rounds of layoffs in 2023 — had an incredible turnaround in the second quarter, posting an operating income of 266 million euros ($286 million) — a 513 million-euro ($552 million) improvement from the second quarter of 2023. Despite the much smaller staff, the streaming giant’s revenue grew 19.8% to 3.81 billion euros ($4.1 billion) while its gross margin rose to 29.2% from 24.1%. Spotify’s share price jumped 12% after the release and had almost increased another 2% through Thursday (Aug. 1).
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Spotify’s latest layoffs in December, which affected 17% of its staff, attracted criticism —“Spotify is screwed,” Wired proclaimed — but they made a large and immediate impact. In the second quarter, total operating expenses dropped 16.5% as every component had a double-digit decline (general and administrative expenses were down 23%, sales and marketing fell 16.3%, and research and development expenses dropped 16.5%). When Spotify announced the staff cuts, CEO Daniel Ek admitted the scope of the layoffs would feel “surprisingly large” but was steadfast in the need to become “relentlessly resourceful.” At the time, he said, “We still have too many people dedicated to supporting work and even doing work around the work rather than contributing to opportunities with real impact.”
Recent staff cuts also appear to have benefitted SiriusXM, which laid off 8% of its workforce in 2023 and another 3% of its headcount in February. Though the satellite radio giant’s share price fell 6.4% on Thursday after the company announced it lost 173,000 satellite radio subscribers and 41,000 Pandora subscribers in the second quarter, net profit grew 1.9% to $316 million even as revenue fell 3% to $2.18 billion. Thanks to its cost-cutting efforts, general and administrative expenses dropped 31% and engineering, design and development costs fell 14.5%.
Not all companies reporting earnings over the last two weeks had to lay off workers to improve their margins. French music streamer Deezer, citing improved cost control and margin improvement through more favorable terms with record labels, improved its first-half adjusted EBITDA by 8 million euros ($8.7 million). The company also raised its target for full-year adjusted EBITDA by 5 million euros ($5.4 million).
Reservoir Media, which reported earnings on Wednesday (July 31), similarly improved operational efficiency without layoffs. The company’s share price fell by 8.8% in the two days after it announced quarterly recorded music revenue had dropped 7%, but the company’s publishing revenue improved 15% overall revenue grew 8% and adjusted EBITDA soared 25%. While investors found reason for concern, CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi struck an optimistic note on Wednesday’s earnings call. “We’re off to a good start in fiscal 2025 and remain on track to again hit our annual targets,” she said.
In addition to cost-cutting, streaming companies are also enjoying the benefits of price increases. Not only did Spotify raise its subscriber count by 26 million in the previous 12 months, but price increases pushed average revenue per user (ARPU) up 8.2%, or 0.35 euros ($0.38), per month. Even though Deezer didn’t gain subscribers over the previous year, its ARPU rose 6% for direct subscribers and 3.5% for subscribers gained through partnerships due to price increases it instituted last year.
Of course, music companies have their share of challenges that cost-cutting can’t solve. Streamers can’t raise prices too frequently and are dealing with ongoing sluggishness in ad-supported streaming. Record labels need to re-set expectations for their subscription businesses and continue to see sluggish ad-supported streaming revenue. And music publishers are getting a pay cut from Spotify’s decision to treat its premium service like a bundle in the U.S. Considering all this, their decisions to cut costs and focus on operational efficiency couldn’t have come at a better time.
Jessica Hoy figured her show, Mornings With Bo and Jess on CKCE-FM (101.5 Today Radio) Calgary, Alberta, was about to undergo major changes. Her co-host, Bobby May, had already warned her that he planned to quit the station in March. Hoy did not expect management to fire her and replace the show with a podcast duo based nearly 200 miles away who are broadcast on multiple stations.
“I was quite shocked when I was let go,” says Hoy, who nevertheless points out that, these days, “A lot of stations are trying to cut costs.”
As broadcast companies contend with debt loads, advertising declines and competition from streaming services and popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience, radio stations have spent the last few years laying off dozens of employees, including on-air talent. Once-popular morning shows are the latest casualties, including, in late June, WKTU-FM New York’s Carolina With Greg T and KZZU-FM Spokane, Wash.’s long-running Dave, Ken and Molly.
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“With longevity comes larger salaries, and if the return on investment isn’t there anymore, these significant moves have to be made,” says Lance Venta, owner and publisher of Radio Insight. “Most of these corporate communications groups look at the individuals as a line item on a spreadsheet.”
Sean Ross, who puts out the Ross on Radio newsletter, tells Billboard, “With a lot of heritage morning shows, radio stations find themselves in a trick bag where the show is simultaneously not quite as big as it used to be, less tenable financially after years of salary increases but is still the biggest asset the station has.”
Many of the recently fired morning-show stars did not respond to inquiries or declined to comment, as did the stations that terminated them. Carolina Bermudez, the laid-off co-host of iHeartMedia’s Carolina With Greg T, says she was “advised by my lawyer not to comment at this time,” and Kendall Hopkins of Dave, Ken and Molly says he would talk “when I’m free to.” But after Canada’s Pattison Media dropped Mornings With Bo and Jess, May posted an Instagram screed: “Radio is in terrible shape with the current CEOs and shareholders at hand nationwide and I HATE to see my coworkers go down with it. … Talents have unfortunately become just a number on a piece of paper.”
Tanner Jay, whose Jake and Tanner Show on WKSZ-FM Appleton, Wis., was canceled in November, adds that radio stations are “struggling,” and instead of spending more money on training and nurturing on-air talent, “They’re saying, ‘We might as well put all this money toward getting some Taylor Swift tickets to give away and having one or two people that have never done mornings.’”
His partner, Jake Kelly, with whom he continues to host a daily podcast, adds, “I don’t know if the higher-ups know exactly how to fix the problem. Maybe they’re just firing until they figure it out.”
Morning shows on music radio stations were once cultural and financial juggernauts — Howard Stern rose to fame on WXRK-FM New York in the 1980s, and Steve Harvey’s show on WGCI-FM Chicago helped him diversify beyond stand-up comedy and gain broader celebrity status in the ’90s. Stations still differentiate themselves regionally with flagship shows such as Winston and Mel on Denver’s Kool 105 and Mojo In the Morning on Detroit’s Channel 95.5. Many of these shows, including those by Audacy’s Gary Bryan and iHeart’s Ryan Seacrest, are syndicated and have podcasts of their own.
Kelly argues today’s broadcast morning-show hosts are overdue to update their content. Many shows, he says, rely on clichéd content such as “War of the Roses,” in which the hosts help couples confront each other on-air, often through pranks. “The fakeness of the laughter, the fakeness of the stories — Gen Zs can see through it if it’s not authentic,” he says. “My daughter’s 14, and I don’t know if she’s ever turned on the radio.”
Before their program director took them aside after a Wednesday broadcast and fired them, Kelly and Jay were moving away from conventional morning-show shtick toward more personal stories, including discussing alcoholism and family issues on-air. Their new approach did not change the station’s fortunes. Their station’s overall ratings declined in the Green Bay, Wis., market from spring 2022 to fall 2023, according to Radio Online.
Hoy, who currently works as a medical outreach coordinator for a dermatology clinic, praises her replacement crew, Crash & Mars, as “unbelievably talented.” She adds that a Calgary morning show based in Edmonton may appeal to the station’s finances, but not the community. “I do worry about what happens when local news and events happen,” she says. “It just breaks that connection with the listeners.”
A version of this story appeared in the July 20, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Audacy has reduced its workforce by 2%, according to a company spokesperson. Affected employees included a Boston sports reporter who was laid off the day before today’s NFL Draft, a Chicago afternoon news anchor and roughly 98 other employees, according to reports. “It’s like, ‘How many layoffs can they go through before there’s nobody left?’” […]
The dispute over the YouTube Music union, whose 43 members were abruptly laid off last week while one was testifying during an Austin City Council meeting, largely depends on the definition of “contractor.” Because they are not permanent, full-time employees, “their project on YouTube Music has ended,” according to a rep from their employer, information-technology subcontractor Cognizant, and “the contract expired at its natural end date.”
Independent contractors, according to Kate Bronfenbrenner, Cornell University’s director of labor education research, are “not under the regulatory state,” so they lack basic workplace protections. “Whether it’s labor law, health and safety or race discrimination, independent contractors have almost no rights in our economy,” she says. “So employers say, ‘We want to make as much money as possible — let’s make all our employees temporary employees.’”
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The 43 YouTube contractors, who work for Cognizant and Google to oversee content for the music-streaming service’s 80 million subscribers, voted unanimously almost a year ago to form a union under the auspices of Alphabet Workers Union-CWA. They’ve complained of hourly wages as low as $19 and a lack of sick pay and benefits. And they say Google has not been willing to bargain with them; in January, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Google’s refusal to do so was illegal and must “bargain on request.” (An appeal is pending.)
In a statement, Google spokeswoman Courtenay Mencini repeated that Cognizant, not Google, is “responsible for these workers’ employment terms.” On Cognizant’s side, Jeff DeMarrais, chief communications officer, says “nobody was laid off” from YouTube Music and the contractors have seven weeks of paid time to “explore other roles within the organization.”
Sam Regan, a YouTube Music data analyst who is on the union’s organizing committee, responds that his team’s project was “never considered as temporary” and the Cognizant moves are, in fact, layoffs, as opposed to reassignments to different areas of the company. “Our team was fired and we had no notice, no warning, that we were going to get laid off,” he says. “It was cold, ruthless, dehumanizing, inhumane. The practice of tech companies laying off large swaths of people without notice is indicative of a pretty sick orientation towards workers in our culture.”
Regan and Katie-Marie Marschner, a subject matter expert on YouTube Music’s charts team until last week, accuse company managers of forcing them to leave their office without giving them a chance to remove their belongings. The office was a “total destruction zone,” Marschner says, alleging company employees and on-site security refused to let them remove certain personal items. “The experience was traumatic for a lot of us,” Regan adds.
Members of the YouTube Music team had been scheduled to testify before the Austin City Council on Feb. 29 to ask city officials to help convince Google to negotiate with their union. But as data analyst Jack Benedict was speaking, Marschner received a text saying her entire team was fired. Shaken, she interrupted the colleague’s speech — a moment captured in a video clip that went viral. Watching the clip afterwards, Marschner says, has been surreal and traumatic. “It’s such an insane experience opening my phone and that’s the first thing I see — myself talking, and not just talking, but the sound of my voice and the pain and shock,” she says.
Marschner accuses Cognizant and Google of “union-busting” and says the team members were “fired illegally.” And Cornell’s Bronfenbrenner is skeptical of Cognizant’s assertion that the temporary employees had a “natural end date” of Feb. 29. “There are a whole lot of questions about that,” she says. “From everything I’ve read, there wasn’t a certain date. And if there was an uncertain date, the employer can’t say their contract just ended and they can’t be laid off.”
Reached at home, Marschner says she plans to continue pursuing union recognition for her team: “We’re not done with this. We’re very much ready to keep the fight going.”
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.
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.