President/CEO of Atlantic Music Group Julie Greenwald announced about two dozen layoffs on Monday (Feb. 26), mostly in the radio and video divisions, in an internal staff memo obtained by Advertising sign. As part of the announcement, Greenwald also said the company will “offer new and additional skill sets in social media, content creation, community building and audience insights,” with the goal of “calling[ing] increase the focus of our fans and help[ing] artists tell their stories in ways that resonate.”
Greenwald, who has been with Atlantic Records for 20 years, was named president/CEO of the newly formed Atlantic Music Group in October 2022, overseeing Atlantic Records and its subsidiaries (Atco, Big Beat, Canvasback) as well as 300 Elektra Entertainment , featuring 300, Elektra, Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, DTA and Public Consumption. In that role, he continues to be co-chairman/CEO of Atlantic Records along with co-chairman/CEO Craig Kalman.
“Our artists today need more support from us than ever before — in a world that's getting noisier, faster, and more competitive,” Greenwald wrote. “We need to do more, but at the same time, our approach needs to be authentic, bold and tailored to individual artists. We cannot influence culture if we do not have the right mix of people living that culture. That's why we need dedicated teams of multi-talented, multi-talented people – our 'SWAT teams' – who surround the artist and do everything possible to help realize their potential.”
The news comes three weeks after the CEO of Warner Music Group Robert Kyncl announced that WMG will cut its staff by 10%, or about 600 employees, amid a broader reallocation of resources that will include the sale of owned-and-operated media properties such as HipHopDX and Uproxx. That move came on the same day Warner announced it had its best quarter ever, with revenue up 17% to $1.75 billion, and that the moves would free up about $200 million to reinvest in the company.
However, Greenwald noted that this move was not about merging or closing labels, but repositioning the label group for the future. “We've all heard the same industry rumors about labels downsizing or merging with each other. I can tell you: this is not it,” he wrote. “We are deeply committed to the unique cultures of our labels, led by 300, Elektra and Atlantic. Craig, Kevin [Liles, CEO of 300 Elektra], and I passionately believe that these identities are vital to attracting great artists and building great careers. We want artists to be selective about the culture and group they belong to, just as we think about deciding which artists to sign.”
Read Greenwald's full memo to staff below.
Dear Atlantic, Elektra and 300,
Two weeks ago during the all hands call you heard Robert and Max talk about the evolution of our music company. We were tasked last year to look at our staff and ask the difficult question, how do we achieve maximum impact for our artists in this ever-changing landscape?
As difficult as it is to say goodbye to our valued friends and colleagues, it is important that we continue to renew the company and add new resources and skill sets to our business units. I have now been at Atlantic for 20 years. The company grew and evolved tremendously because we weren't afraid to implement change and add new marketers, new A&R, new data and research, and even new labels. Always evolving but with a steadfast North Star: sign the best musicians and commit to the hardest work of building real careers through true artist development.
Our artists today need more support from us than ever before – in a world that is becoming noisier, faster and more fiercely competitive. We need to do more, but at the same time, our approach needs to be authentic, bold and tailored to individual artists. We cannot influence culture if we do not have the right mix of people living that culture. That's why we need dedicated teams of multi-talented, multi-talented people – our “SWAT teams” – who surround the artist and do everything possible to help realize their potential.
The changes we are making today are mostly happening in the radio and video teams. We will maintain our industry leadership in these areas while bringing new and additional skill sets in social media, content creation, community building and audience insights. This will allow us to focus on our fans and help artists tell their stories in ways that resonate.
As part of this change, I'm sorry to say that about two dozen people will be leaving us from our three labels and their imprints. We have already notified everyone affected. I know we will all support each other, even more than usual, and I deeply appreciate your empathy and understanding.
We've all heard the same industry rumors about labels downsizing or merging with each other. I can tell you: this is not it. We are deeply committed to the unique cultures of our labels, led by 300, Elektra and Atlantic. Craig, Kevin and I believe passionately that these identities are vital to attracting great artists and building great careers. We want artists to be selective about the culture and group they belong to, just as we think about deciding which artists to sign.
Right now, there's incredible music from artists across the board. We have some of our biggest returning superstars and some great new artists that we are building in a very real way. We are taking the right step into the future and I hope you will continue to share your ideas with senior management so that we can continuously improve.
Thanks.
Julie
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/record-labels/atlantic-music-group-layoffs-new-hires-digital-social-1235615590/