环球音乐集团高层人事震荡：Def Jam、Polydor、Interscope多名高管将离职，2024年重组计划进入收尾阶段
据 Billboard 报道，环球音乐集团（UMG）10月14日向内部宣布，公司2024年首次公布的三阶段重组与降本计划已进入最后阶段，多位知名高管将离任或转岗。报道称，将离开现职的高管包括：英国 Polydor 唱片总裁本·莫蒂默（Ben Mortimer）、Def Jam 唱片董事长兼首席执行官通吉·巴洛根（Tunji Balogun）、Interscope Geffen A&M 总裁兼城市音乐 A&R 负责人妮可·维斯科阿尔科（Nicole Wyskoarko）、Interscope Geffen A&M 联合总裁兼流行/摇滚 A&R 负责人萨姆·里巴克（Sam Riback）、UMG 英国首席艺人与战略官丽贝卡·艾伦（Rebecca Allen）、UMG 爱尔兰董事总经理马克·克罗辛厄姆（Mark Crossingham）、UM Recordings 英国总裁汉娜·尼夫斯（Hannah Neaves），以及 UMG 瑞士和奥地利董事总经理伊沃·萨基（Ivo Sacchi）。其中，尼夫斯与艾伦将转任公司顾问，巴洛根则将留任至今年年底。报道援引消息人士称，其他高级管理人员预计也将被列入裁员名单，本轮调整已于本周启动。据 Warner Music Beat 报道，Republic 唱片董事长兼首席执行官吉姆·罗波（Jim Roppo）也将作为本轮高层变动的一部分离开公司（罗波转投华纳，本站另有报道）。
报道还称，部分高管将担任新的或扩大的职务：Mercury 唱片董事长兼首席执行官泰勒·阿诺德（Tyler Arnold）和 Republic Collective 总裁兼首席执行官杰弗里·雷梅迪奥斯（Jeffery Remedios）将立即在 Republic 唱片担任新的领导职务；Island 唱片联合首席执行官伊姆兰·马吉德（Imran Majid）和贾斯汀·埃沙克（Justin Eshak）将扩大其在东海岸厂牌的职责；劳拉·卡特（Laura Carter）、拉蒙·阿尔瓦雷斯-斯米克尔（Ramon Alvarez-Smikle）和米歇尔·安（Michelle An）将在 Interscope Geffen A&M 承担更广泛的领导职务；妮基·欧文（Nickie Owen）将出任 UMG 英国全球营销总裁；乌尔夫·齐克（Ulf Zick）将接管 UMG 在瑞士和奥地利的业务；尼克·扬格（Nick Younger）将出任 UMG 爱尔兰董事总经理。
据报道，本轮离职是 UMG 2024年2月宣布的成本削减计划的延续。Billboard 当时报道称，UMG 在2024年财报电话会议上把该计划称为"战略性组织重新设计"，预计到2026年底每年可节省2.5亿欧元（约合2.7亿美元）；其中2024年削减7500万欧元（约合8130万美元），2025年削减1.25亿欧元（约合1.355亿美元）。该计划曾把公司重组为较为松散的"东海岸—西海岸"架构：东海岸业务归入由蒙特·利普曼（Monte Lipman）领导的 REPUBLIC 体系，西海岸业务归入由约翰·贾尼克（John Janick）领导的 Interscope Capitol 品牌。另据报道，环球音乐加拿大上个月底裁减了当地约6%至7%的员工，涉及十余个岗位，包括传播、营销、A&R、厂牌合作和行政等部门。
环球音乐发言人就此表示："我们持续的成功，建立在我们预见行业变化、及早采取行动以更好地服务所有艺人和词曲作者、并抓住音乐增长最快领域的机遇的能力之上。我们在艺人培养方面行业领先的投入，始终指导着这项工作，今后也将继续如此。我们正在引入新的技能和技术，把各团队的专业能力连接起来，以实现更大的全球影响力和更高的效率。对于我们不得不取消某些岗位的艰难决定，我们对离职人员的贡献深表感谢。"
Billboard 还报道，UMG 股价今年以来累计下跌近33%；分析人士认为，公司在完成对 Downtown Music Group 的收购后，可能通过限制支出保护现金流和利润率。报道称，巴克莱银行一周前把 UMG 股票评级上调至"增持"，理由是预期公司近期将削减成本，并从 Spotify 的 AI 混音工具中略长期受益；多名消息人士还说，过去几周 UMG 已在收紧开支，多个厂牌和其音乐出版部门环球音乐出版集团（UMPG）被要求推迟今年剩余时间的非必要支出，高管差旅和费用也有所削减。
Universal Music Group Shakeup: Def Jam, Polydor and Interscope Executives to Exit as 2024 Restructuring Plan Concludes
Universal Music Group (UMG) has initiated the final phase of a three-part restructuring and cost-cutting plan first announced in 2024, with several high-profile executives set to exit the company, sources told Billboard. According to Billboard, those leaving their current posts include Ben Mortimer, president of Polydor Records in the U.K.; Tunji Balogun, chairman and CEO of Def Jam Recordings; Nicole Wyskoarko, president and head of urban A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M; Sam Riback, co-president and head of pop/rock A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M; Rebecca Allen, chief artist and strategy officer at UMG U.K.; Mark Crossingham, managing director of UMG Ireland; Hannah Neaves, president of UM Recordings UK; and Ivo Sacchi, managing director of UMG in Switzerland and Austria. Neaves and Allen will take on consultancies with the company, while Balogun will finish out his role for the rest of the year. Other senior executives are also expected to be part of the cuts, which began this week. Warner Music Beat, citing Music Business Worldwide, also reported that Republic Records chairman and CEO Jim Roppo will leave the company as part of the leadership changes (GSM reports Roppo's move to Warner separately).
Some executives will take on new or expanded roles. Tyler Arnold, chairman and CEO of Mercury Records, and Jeffrey Remedios, president and CEO of Republic Collective, will take on new leadership roles at Republic Records, effective immediately. Island Records co-CEOs Imran Majid and Justin Eshak will expand their roles within the East Coast labels, and Laura Carter, Ramon Alvarez-Smikle and Michelle An will take on broader leadership roles at Interscope Geffen A&M. Nickie Owen will take on an expanded role as president of global marketing at UMG U.K., Ulf Zick will take over UMG's operations in Switzerland and Austria, and Nick Younger will become managing director of UMG Ireland. The exact shape of some of the new roles is not yet clear and is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
The departures are a continuation of the cost-cutting plan UMG announced in February 2024. On a 2024 earnings call, the company described the plan as a "strategic organizational redesign" that would result in 250 million euros (about $271 million) in annual savings by the end of 2026, including 75 million euros (about $81.3 million) of reductions in 2024 and 125 million euros (about $135.5 million) in 2025. The reorganization shifted the company into a loose East Coast-West Coast alignment, with the East Coast organized under the REPUBLIC umbrella headed by Monte Lipman and the West Coast under the Interscope Capitol branding led by John Janick. In late September, Universal Music Canada let go of about 6% to 7% of its workforce there, cutting more than a dozen roles across communications, marketing, A&R, label partnerships and administration.
A UMG spokesperson said of the staff changes: "Our consistent success has been built on our ability to anticipate industry changes, act early to better serve all our artists and songwriters, and capture opportunities in music's fastest-growing areas. Our industry-leading investment in artist development has always guided that work and will continue to do so. We're bringing in new skills and technology and connecting expertise across our teams to deliver greater global impact and greater efficiency. Where we have made the difficult decision to remove certain roles, we are deeply grateful for the contributions of the people leaving us."
Billboard also reported that UMG's share price is down nearly 33% so far this year, and that analysts believe the company is limiting spending to protect cash flow and profit margins following the close of its acquisition of Downtown Music Group. Barclays upgraded UMG's stock to overweight a week ago, based on its expectation that the company will cut costs in the near term and benefit from Spotify's AI remixing tool in the slightly longer term. Multiple sources also told Billboard that in recent weeks UMG had been tightening its purse strings: while there is no official policy across all of UMG, several labels and its publishing arm, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), had been instructed to put off unnecessary spending for the rest of the year, and executive travel and expenses have been reduced.
图片来源：位于加州圣莫尼卡的环球音乐集团总部大楼。Coolcaesar／Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0
