Motown Records Initiates Layoffs as Label Reverses Course, Returning to Capitol Music Group
variety.comThania Garcia Motown Records has weathered major changes in the last year, not the least of which include the exit of chairwoman and CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam in March 2021, and is now is planning a restructuring that will bring it back into the fold of Capitol Music Group.
With that, layoffs have been initiated, Variety has confirmed, with at least three high-ranking executives being impacted. In a statement, first published by Billboard and obtained by Variety, a Motown spokesperson said: “As Motown returns to the Capitol family, certain positions that had been created when we became a stand-alone label have since become duplicative.
These employees are leaving the company and our People, Inclusion and Culture department is helping them find new opportunities — either within or outside of UMG.” Motown is home to such top-selling rap, hip-hop and R&B acts as Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Migos, City Girls, Erykah Badu, Brandy and Ne-Yo.
It was started in 1958 by Berry Gordy and went on to shape the sound of popular music throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and influence practically everything that came after.
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