According to a news release issued Tuesday, the Island Def Jam Music Group “will cease to exist” as it is. Reportedly, Def Jam (home to Rihanna and Kanye West), Island (Bon Jovi, Justin Bieber) and Motown, will become separate entities, with some changes in their leadership and operations.
According to The New York Times, since its creation in the late ’90s, Universal has been organized in separate divisions that each include several record labels. Among these are Interscope, Geffen, A&M, Republic, and the Capitol Music Group, which are homes for labels such as Capitol and Virgin, which Universal acquired in 2011.
Lucian Grainge, the chairman of Universal, acknowledged in a note to employees that Island Def Jam no longer functioned as well as it once did.
“The fact is: No matter how much we might work to build ‘IDJ’ as a brand, that brand could never be as powerful as each of IDJ’s constituent parts,” Grainge wrote.
Highly regarded music executive Barry Weiss, who was swapped with Universal’s former chairman, Doug Morris, never found a clear role at Universal. After being hired to run the label’s New York labels, including Republic and Island Def Jam, Weiss has stepped down from his position which was ambiguous from the beginning.
According to The NY Post, Weiss has decided to relieve himself of his duties at Universal after Michele Anthony, a former colleague of his at Sony, was named executive vice president of US recorded music — a role that appeared to industry observers to elevate her above Weiss.