>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 14:16:03 -0800 >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], > [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Melissa Blazek) >Subject: Seagram: D-Day > > > >[Los Angeles Times] > > Friday, January 22, 1999 > > A & M Records Closes; Geffen Lays Off 110 >Jobs: Seagram's actions end an era and underscore changes in the > music business. > > By ROBERT HILBURN, GEOFF BOUCHER, CHUCK PHILIPS, Times Staff Writers > > >[A]fter 37 years of spinning >out hits by such acts as Cat >Stevens, the Police and Sheryl >Crow, A & M Records closed its >doors Thursday--firing nearly >170 employees who were given the >day to pack and leave. >hugged in the parking lot as >weeping employees carried boxes > of personal belongings to their > cars. Above them, the A & M sign > was draped with a black band and > the flag flew at half staff, to > commemorate, fired workers said, > the death of the historic > Hollywood record label. > Those fired at A & M were > among nearly 500 employees cut > in Los Angeles and New York by > Seagram Co. as part of a massive > restructuring that will > eliminate thousands of music > industry jobs worldwide. Two > miles down the road, Geffen > Record employees stripped the > walls of gold records and > carried boxes down Sunset > Boulevard past the label's > headquarters after being > notified that they too no longer > had jobs. About 110 Geffen > employees were fired. > Signaling an end to an era > in the Los Angeles music scene, > the layoffs underscore the > changing economics and direction > of the music business as > Seagram, which recently > completed its $10.4-billion > acquisition of PolyGram, > combines two of the world's > biggest record conglomerates. > At their peaks, A & M and > Geffen represented the > commercial and artistic > potential of independent labels, > which have been the proving > ground for scores of musicians > whose talents and vision did not > fit into more mainstream labels. > > But both labels began > losing autonomy after they were > bought up during the last decade > by conglomerates PolyGram and > MCA. > > Changes Alarm Some Critics > Some industry critics are > alarmed at the changes. With > power concentrated in fewer and > fewer hands, the danger, they > fear, is that there will be no > room left for the independent > spirit that helped build such > legendary independent labels as > Atlantic, Motown, Island, A & M > and Geffen. Among the artists > launched by A & M and Geffen > alone: Cat Stevens, the Police, > Nirvana, the Carpenters, Joe > Cocker, Beck and Guns 'N Roses. > "This isn't about Universal > or Seagram," said A & M chief Al > Cafaro, who also was fired. "The > record business is changing > fundamentally. Don't think that > there are calm seas on the other > side of this threshold. If the > quake that devoured A & M and > Geffen is a 6.0 on the Richter > scale, there is a 7.0 coming in > this industry. It's a Wall > Street world now. Get ready." > Sources say Seagram is > considering selling the A & M > lot--which houses film star > Charlie Chaplin's former sound > stage--and the Geffen Records' > headquarters--a converted group > of houses once owned by > songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. > Executives at Seagram's > Universal Music Group say that A > & M and Geffen will be folded > into Interscope Records to form > IGA--one of four large music > groups made up of consolidated > labels acquired in Seagram's > purchase of PolyGram. About 200 > employees were laid off Thursday > at the New York-based Motown, > Mercury and Island labels. About > 250 artists will also be dropped > over the next few months, > sources said. > Universal executives say > they intend to preserve the > individual identities of the > downsized labels as they fold > them into larger groups, but the > handful of A & M and Geffen > employees who survived the blood > bath were skeptical. > A & M, Geffen, Motown, > Mercury and Island all have > performed poorly in recent > years, producing few hits and > often operating in the red. Some > label employees kept on by > Seagram privately acknowledged > that the downsizing was merited. > Several workers who lost their > jobs even praised Seagram's > handling of the layoffs, saying > the company had offered them > generous severance packages. > "While change is always > difficult, the restructuring of > the labels is necessary for us > to be more competitive, develop > artists' careers and pave the > way for meaningful growth," > Universal Music Group said in a > statement. > Seagram expects to produce > $300 million in savings annually > by consolidating the companies. > Analysts suggest that the > restructuring will provide > Universal with unparalleled > economies of scale guaranteed to > boost operating margins and > position the conglomerate for > strong earnings growth over the > next three years. > But that's little > consolation to record label > employees who were issued pink > slips Thursday morning. > At A & M, employees wore > baseball caps embroidered with > the slogan "The Last of the Lot" > as they gathered for a 9:30 a.m. > meeting inside the Charlie > Chaplin sound stage to hear the > news. Sheryl Crow and > Soundgarden's Chris Cornell > stopped by the lot to trade war > stories with tearful employees > in the afternoon. Before the day > was over, Universal officials > ordered A & M to remove the > black band that employees had > draped around the company's > famed trumpet overlooking the > label's La Brea Avenue entrance. > > While A & M and Geffen will > live on in name, the gutting of > their enterprises effectively > ends their history as > independent upstarts. > A & M started modestly, > with trumpeter Herb Alpert and > his business partner Jerry Moss > pooling their money and initials > to create a record company. "The > Lonely Bull," by Alpert and the > Tijuana Brass, was a huge first > hit for the nascent label in > 1962, and the co-founder would > remain the label's star until > Carole King, Joe Cocker, Burt > Bacharach, Cat Stevens and the > Carpenters were added in the > late '60s or early '70s. > The company turned to arena > rockers--Styx, Peter Frampton, > Supertramp--as the '70s wore on, > and found its flagship act for > the 1980s in a British trio > called the Police. Janet Jackson > became a huge A & M star before > Alpert and Moss decided to sell > the company to PolyGram for > about $500 million in 1989. > Alpert and Moss quit the label > after a series of disputes with > corporate management at > PolyGram. > "It's certainly sad to see > what is happening today, but to > tell you the truth, you could > see it coming once A & M became > part of the [conglomerate > structure] at Polygram," Alpert > said Thursday. "I saw that train > coming . . . the sharp contrast > between the independent world > and that corporate. I don't > think their bottom line has much > to do with music or artists. > It's very black and white. > "I'm not speaking for all > corporations, just my experience > at PolyGram. It seemed like they > were so bottom-line conscious > that it was hard to make a > decision like we used to . . . > just from the gut, based on > feeling, not whether an artist > might be able to sell oodles of > records." > > Roster of Big Names > Where A & M started small, > Geffen Records landed with a > splash in 1980 as its founder, > David Geffen, returned to the > music industry after an > eight-year hiatus to sign John > Lennon, Elton John and Donna > Summer to his new namesake > label. > Geffen picked up where he > left off with the 1972 sale of > his Asylum Records, a label that > boasted Jackson Browne, the > Eagles and Linda Ronstadt. But > Lennon's murder rattled the > company badly, and a slump > followed. > Geffen eventually found > hit-makers in Aerosmith and > Cher, acts viewed as retreads by > others in the industry, and huge > new super bands Guns 'N Roses > and Nirvana. The roster also > included veterans Don Henley and > Peter Gabriel, who hit their > solo strides in the 1980s, and > quick-hit money-makers such as > Whitesnake. > Geffen employees were told > about their fate in a pair of > 45-minute morning meetings in > the conference room of the > Geffen Records building, at the > west edge of the Sunset Strip. > Later in the day, several dozen > employees, including fired > Chairman Eddie Rosenblatt, > gathered across the street at > the Rainbow Room for what they > called a "wake." > "It's very sad for me," > said David Geffen, who sold the > label to MCA in 1990 and now is > a principal in DreamWorks SKG. > "The thing that made Geffen and > A & M and Interscope appealing > and successful was the fact that > they were small, agile and were > able to react quickly. That gave > an artist a certain kind of > involvement and attention > compared to what the big record > companies could provide. Now > Geffen and A & M and Interscope > are one big company. It's a > painful thing to watch." > > Copyright 1999 Los Angeles > Times. All Rights Reserved > > [ ] Search the archives of the > Los Angeles Times for similar > stories about: > LAYOFFS, BUSINESS CLOSINGS, > GEFFEN RECORDS, A & M RECORDS, > RECORDING INDUSTRY -- LOS > ANGELES, MUSIC INDUSTRY -- LOS > ANGELES. You will not be charged > to look for stories, only to > retrieve one. > > --------------------------------- > > [submitnews] [submitsite] > >Melissa Blazek >Editor * The Album Network >120 N. Victory Blvd. * Burbank, CA 91502 >818.955.4000 (phone) * 818.955.8048 (fax) >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >
