AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP

Santa Monica, California-based Universal Music Group, a global music producer with some of the most iconic and influential labels, brands, and artists in music, has announced a major reduction in force, primarily affecting its recorded music division.

The reduction in force will impact hundreds of employees.

A company spokesperson noted, “We continue to position UMG to accelerate its leadership in music’s most promising growth areas and drive its transformation to capitalize on them. Over the past several years, we have been investing in future growth—building our e-commerce and D2C operations, expanding geographically, and leveraging new technologies. While we maintain our industry-leading investments in A&R and artist development, 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.”

CEO Lucian Grainge foreshadowed the layoffs in October 2023 when he said, “We will cut overhead in order to grow it elsewhere. We do have experience in managing the business, in managing the teams, and the businesses within that make up the group, and we’ve got a plan.” Following this with a 2024 memo to employees.

"Looking to 2024, both the pace of change and our industry leadership will increase significantly. We’ll be moving quickly and meaningfully on many different fronts.

Our pioneering artist-centric strategy will extend its reach. We first focused on a fairer way to allocate the streaming pie among real artists by addressing fraud and other aspects that deprive artists of their just compensation. The next focus of our strategy will be to grow the pie for all artists, by strengthening the artist-fan relationship through superfan experiences and products. We are already in advanced discussions with our platform partners regarding this phase and will have more to announce in the coming months. In addition, we will be building our inhouse capabilities through groundbreaking partnerships that will accelerate our artists’ ability to create experiential, commerce and content offerings for their fans. In short, we are creating the blueprint for the labels of the future.

As for AI, we will continue building opportunity for our artists, while also leading the fight to protect them from unethical uses of this technology. And all around the world, we will continue to prioritize and fight for policies in the service of artistry—not at the expense of it. We also expect to announce more real-world commercial applications for artist-driven, ethical AI.

We will keep growing our presence around the world by doing just what we do in more established music markets: signing and developing local artists; providing local labels and entrepreneurs with global promotion, distribution, and a full suite of artist services; and acquiring local labels, catalogs, and artist services businesses.

As you know, over the past several years, we have been investing in future growth, not just expanding geographically and leveraging new technologies, but building our e-commerce and D2C operations. In 2024, as we continue our industry-leading investments in A&R and artist development, we will further evolve our organizational structure to create efficiencies in other areas of the business, so we can remain nimble and responsive to opportunities as they arise, while also taking advantage ofthe benefits of our scale.

In the face of so much change and opportunity, standing still is never an option.

We must continue to fight for our artists and songwriters and stand up for the creative and commercial value of music.

Our vision of the future is filled with possibilities, and acting on our strategy will make those possibilities real—for our artists, our employees, our shareholders and the entire music ecosystem.

I promise 2024 will be an extremely exciting and transformative year for our company."

Lucian

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT WARNER MUSIC GROUP (02/07/24)

FEBRUARY 7, 2024 — 10% OF THE WORKFORCE, 600 EMPLOYEES

From CEO Robert Kyncl…

Hi everyone,

This is a pivotal moment in the evolution of this great company, so I wanted to make sure you heard about it directly from me. As I outlined in my note last month, 2024 is a year during which we will double down on our core business and move at an increased velocity to seize the incredible opportunities for music in the new world.

This week, our recording artists make up five of the top 10, and our songwriters have six of the Top 10, on the Billboard Hot 100. Today, we’re revealing our latest quarterly results: we grew 11% in normalized revenue. And with growing momentum in Recorded Music streaming and excellent results in Music Publishing, we hit our highest quarterly revenue ever. We’re in a position of strength, and that’s the smart time to change, innovate, and lead. Music is constantly morphing, so we need to morph with it.

Today, we’re announcing a plan to free up more funds to invest in music and accelerate our growth for the next decade. To do that, we have to make thoughtful choices about where we put our people, resources, and capital. So, as part of that plan, we’ll be realizing approximately $200 million in annualized cost savings by the end of September 2025. The majority of these savings will be reinvested, putting more money behind the music.

Our plan includes reducing our workforce by approximately 10%, or 600 people – the majority of which will relate to our Owned & Operated media properties, corporate and various support functions.

I recognize this is unsettling news. To the people who will be leaving us: you deserve a heartfelt thank you for your hard work and dedication. We’re fortunate that you’ve been part of the team. We’ll be moving as thoughtfully and respectfully as possible, so you have the critical information you need, and we’ll support you through this transition.

Earlier today, we began exiting our O&O media properties, as well as our in-house ad sales function. These are dynamic platforms, but they operate outside our core responsibilities to our roster. We’re in an exclusive process for the potential sale of the news & entertainment websites Uproxx and HipHopDX, with more to say on that soon. After a thorough exploration of alternatives, we’ve decided to wind down the podcasting brand Interval Presents and social media publisher IMGN. Maria and I continue to discuss the ongoing evolution of WMX, and how best to further improve our services to artists and labels, and she’ll update the team in the coming weeks.

As we carry out our plan, it’s important to bear in mind why we’re making these difficult choices. We’re getting on the front foot to create a sustainable competitive advantage over the next decade. We’ll do so by increasing funding behind artists and songwriters, new skill sets, and tech, to help us deliver on our three strategic priorities:

Grow the engagement with Music

Discovering and developing artists and songwriters is at the heart of everything we do. We’ll turbocharge our efforts and investments, with additional focus on high growth geographies and vibrant genres, as well as using our data and insights to help original talents cut through the increasing noise, and taking a holistic global approach to maximizing the potential of their catalogs.

Increase the value of Music

This is one of our industry’s largest and most complex opportunities and one that we’re working on diligently, whether it’s new DSP deal structures or building superfan experiences to help artists connect directly with their most passionate followers.

Evolve how we work together

In order to grow at an accelerated pace, we need to structure our organization so that we can grow efficiently and continue to invest more into music at the same time. That requires being intentional about where centralized shared functions make sense, versus where they are best fully dedicated. This will empower subject matter experts, while scaling our resources. We already made moves in this direction by centralizing our technology, finance and business development teams last year.

Above all, we’re positioning ourselves to be first, to be different, and to be exceptional. I – and the entire leadership team – will be keeping you updated as we make progress. In May, we’ll hold our next All Hands meeting, which we’ll devote to our best new music, as well as our most promising projects.

Thank you for your understanding, passion, and determination. We’re in an amazing industry, we’re partnered with many extraordinary artists and songwriters, and now is the time for us to pioneer the future.

Robert

APRIL 17, 2023 — Original post…

New York, New York-based Warner Music Group, an entertainment and record label conglomerate, has announced an operational realignment and reduction in force.

Approximately 270 employees are impacted by the reduction in force.

CEO Robert Kyncl noted...

"As I mentioned at our first All-Hands meeting last month, I’m committed to direct and honest communication with all of you. The music business is filled with new possibilities: more fans are engaging with artists and songs than ever, our reach is enormous, and new business models are constantly emerging. WMG is positioning itself for this new phase of growth at the intersection of creativity and technology.

In my discussions with our leaders across the company, many of them came to the same conclusion – that to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us, we need to make some hard choices in order to evolve. Consistent with this direction, we’ve made the tough decision to reduce our global team by approximately 270 people, or about 4%. At the same time, we’re reallocating resources towards new skills for artist and songwriter development and new tech initiatives. We’re also reducing discretionary spending and open positions to provide us with additional flexibility for our future.

I want to be clear that this is not a blanket cost-cutting exercise. Every decision has been made thoughtfully by our operators around the world, who considered the specific needs, skills, and priorities of each label, division, and territory, in order to set us up for long-term success. The leader of your division will either be holding a town hall or sending an email to explain more about this path forward.

I’m also acutely aware of how unsettling this can be. Having to say goodbye to talented colleagues is always difficult. For those of you who will be leaving WMG, please know that?we’re deeply grateful for your hard work, dedication, and all you’ve contributed to this company

In times of great disruption in our world and society, artists and songwriters who have something original to say, who rise to the occasion, will resonate the loudest. Equally, the rapid changes in our economy and ecosystem create the conditions and opportunities for innovation and breakthroughs. I learned when I joined WMG that this is a gritty, incredibly resourceful, and highly impactful team that I want by my side every day of the week. We deliver for our artists, songwriters, and labels with laser focus, inventiveness, and care. And now, more than ever, we need to double down on that.

Let’s support each other with empathy and integrity as we work through this process."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT AMC NETWORKS

New York, New York-based AMC Networks, an entertainment company providing streaming and cable content, has announced the abrupt departure of its CEO and a major reduction in force.

Approximately 20% of the company's workforce, or 370 employees, is impacted by the layoffs -- while the departing AMC Networks CEO, Christina Spade, is entitled to $10.5 million+ plus severance in addition to various awards and restricted stock units after her 3-month tenure.

According to Board Chairman James Dolan, “It was our belief that cord cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming. This has not been the case. We are primarily a content company and the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray. We have directed the executive leadership of AMC Networks to undergo significant cutbacks in operations. These will include a large-scale layoff as well as cuts to every operating area of AMC Networks.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?