According to Billboard, Universal Music Group has revealed its plans for an organizational redesign which is reported to have projected $270 million annual cost saving by the end of 2026. The restructuring plans include layoffs of which a total number of affected employees has yet to be announced with estimates from Music Business Worldwide reaching up to the hundred mark.
A press release had explained the reasoning behind the move, claiming that “the plan is designed to achieve efficiencies in targeted cost areas while strengthening labels’ capabilities to deepen artist and fan connections.”
A spokesperson for Universal Music Group had also “promised the investing in future growth — building our e-commerce and D2C operations, expanding geographically, and leveraging new technologies.”
Fellow record label Warner Music Group had also announced layoffs earlier this month, totaling about 10 percent of its staff, over 600 employees, despite celebrating one of its most successful quarters within its company history.
Several other music industry giants have also announced staffing cuts including Atlantic Music Group, Amazon Music, TikTok Music, YouTube, SiriusXM, Tidal and Spotify. Tidal laid off 10 percent of its staff back in December following Spotify’s 17 percent reduction.
In other news, Universal Music Group has been engaged in a battle over their music’s use on TikTok which has since led to the removal of quite a bit of music from the platform after failed negotiation talks in late January. Universal Music Group has also since expanded the affected discography to include music under the scope of their separate publishing arm.
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