Universal Music Group’s Reorganization: Def Jam, Island, and Motown as Stand-alone Labels
In the dynamic music industry of the past couple of years, Universal Music Group (UMG) announced a significant shake-up, restoring Def Jam Recordings, Island Records, and Motown Records as stand-alone entities within the UMG family. This reorganization aims to rekindle the unique strengths of these iconic labels by boosting their individual management, marketing, publicity, and A&R teams, essentially paving the way for them to re-emerge as distinct creative enterprises.
Barry Weiss Exits Post
Steve Bartels Promoted to CEO of Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Appoints Dion “No I.D.” Wilson and Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua to EVPs and Co-Heads of A&R
Ethiopia Habtemariam Named President of Motown Records
Karen Kwak Appointed EVP A&R, U.S. Recorded Music, UMG
In 1999, Def Jam, Island, and Motown were consolidated into the Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJ). Now, IDJ ceases to exist and other label brands previously under IDJ have been realigned under the three flagship labels, Def Jam, Island, and Motown.
Chairman and CEO of UMG, Lucian Grainge, expressed that this move is intended to recapture the uniqueness of their brands and serve artists with a singular vision, focus, and creativity that was at the core of their original success.
New Structure and Future Plans
Under the new structure, Def Jam Recordings will be led by Steve Bartels, who has been promoted to CEO of the label. Ethiopia Habtemariam, SVP of Motown Records, has been promoted to President of the label. Island Records will expand its own marketing, publicity and A&R departments under the leadership of David Massey. Karen Kwak has been promoted to the newly-created position of Executive Vice President A&R, U.S. Recorded Music.
As IDJ transitioned into three stand-alone labels, Chairman and CEO, East Coast Label Group, Barry Weiss decided to step down from his position to enter into discussions with UMG about a new venture.
#MusicIndustry #DefJam #IslandRecords #MotownRecords #UniversalMusicGroup
