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December 13, 2007

20 or more layoffs today at Geffen and Interscope...Update: 'Perez is pretty much right'

The Daily Swarm | Read Full Story >

A Daily Swarm reader writes:

20–25 more people were let go today. Lots of new media, tour marketing, radio promo, regionals, PR and assistants are gone. It’s mostly Geffen, though some tour marketing and radio people from Interscope as well. Urban A & R and new media was hit. It’s rather chaotic right now. The layoffs are hitting all offices, but mostly Los Angeles. I don’t think it’s over yet.

Billboard.biz:

They include two veteran publicists, Jim Merlis and Jycorri Robinson.

UPDATE: A Daily Swarm reader writes:

Perez is pretty much right.

Perez Hilton:

About 60 people lost their jobs at Interscope and Geffen Records on Thursday when both labels merged into one, PerezHilton.com has learned. Many of those laid off had been there for years.

Yet another sign that the music industry is dead.

The biggest reason for the merger and cutbacks, we’re told, is the huge failures of the Will.I.Am, Nicole Scherzinger and Eve albums, the last two which aren’t even out yet.

“It cost $18 million to make and market those three albums – all bombs,” a music industry source tells us. “Jimmy Iovine [the head of Interscope responsible for the layoffs] is the most hated man in music today!”


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Previous comments include

#1 doubleagame says:

I cannot believe Merlis is out! That says a lot about what's going on under that roof. I'm Schur I know where things started going awry.

#2 Master N. Servant says:

The purging of today at Mr. Geffen's record company show sad state of major lable
People nowhere to go
Major lable now crying like baby
as we say in my country, viva internet!

#3 Long Duc Dong says:

i heard there may be openings at the DMV across the street from the record label monolith on cloverfield and colorado

#4 Montebello Fello says:

Fire Fergie and Scherziner

I Wont Miss Them Like My Little Blanket - thats for sure

Maybe they need to start firing shitty artists, rather than loyal employees

jus' sayin

#5 Bubbles McMuscles says:

Wow, they got rid of Jim Merlis, huh? Another example of major label genius: get rid of the SMART ONES. I'm not particularly close to Merlis, but the dude worked on Nirvana, etc. AND he learned his trade from his legendary dad at Warner's. So if you're going to fire someone, you'd think you'd... fire someone else?
Dipshits.

#6 reasonablehell says:

funny how they layoff tour marketing staff...isnt touring the base of their "new 360 models"....jeesh are these people just plain stupid
layoff the morons who spend 18 million when you dont have to anymore....


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